,illustration3 ,,santa ,,anna4          
,,mexico ,,and ,,its ,,religion2  ,,with
  ,,incidents ,,of ,,travel ,,in ,,that 
,,country ,,during ,,parts ,,of ,,the   
,,years #ahea-eb-ec-ed1  ,,and          
,,historical ,,notices ,,of ,,events    
,,connected ,,with ,,places ,,visited4  
,,by  ,,robert ,a4 ,,wilson4    ,,with  
,,illustrations4   ,,new ,,york3        
,,harper  ,,brothers1 ,,publishers1     
,,franklin ,,square4 #ahee4    ,entered1
 according to ,act of ,congress1 in the 
year one thousand eight hundred and     
fifty-five1 by  ,,harper  ,,brothers1   
,in the ,clerk's ,office for the        
,southern ,district of ,new ,york4      
,,to  ,,the ,,american ,,party ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states1  ,,the         
,,following ,,pages  ,are ,respectfully 
,dedicated4     ,,preface4   ,the custom
 of mingling together historical events 
with the incidents of travel1 of        
amusement with instruction1 is rather a 
,spanish than ,american practice2 and in
 adopting it1 ,i must crave the         

indulgence of those of my readers who   
read only for instruction1 as well as of
 those who read only for amusement4     
,the evidence that ,i have adduced to   
prove that the yellow fever is not an   
,american1 but an ,african disease1     
imported in slave-ships1 and            
periodically renewed from those cargoes 
of human rottenness and putrefaction1 ,i
 hope will be duly considered4  ,the    
picture of inner convent life1 and the  
inimitable gambling scene in the convent
 of ,san ,francis1 ,i have not dared to 
present on my own responsibility1 nor   
even that of the old ,english           
black-letter edition of ,friar ,thomas1 
but ,i have reproduced it from the      
expurgated ,spanish edition1 which has  
passed the censors1 and must therefore  
be considered official4  ,i have        
presumed to follow the great ,las       
,casas1 who called all the historians of
 the ,conquest of ,mexico liars2 and    
though his labored refutation of their  
fictions has disappeared1 yet1          

fortunately1 the natural evidences of   
their untruth still remain4 ,having     
before me the surveys and the levels of 
our own engineers1 ,i have presumed to  
doubt that water ever ran up hill1 that 
navigable canals were ever fed by back  
water1 that pyramids 7teocalli7 could   
rest on a foundation of soft earth1 that
 a canal twelve feet broad by twelve    
feet deep1 mostly below the water level1
 was ever dug by ,indians with their    
rude implements1 that gardens ever      
floated in mud1 or that brigantines ever
 sailed in a salt marsh1 or even that   
#ajj1jjj men ever entered the mud-built 
city of ,mexico by a narrow causeway in 
the morning1 and after fighting all day 
returned by the same path at night to   
their camp1 or that so large a besieging
 army as #aej1jjj men could be supported
 in a salt-marsh valley1 surrounded by  
high mountains4  ,in answer to the      
question why such fables have so long   
passed for history1 ,i have the ready   
answer1 that the ,inquisition controlled

 every printing-office in ,spain and her
 colonies1 and its censors took good    
care that nothing should be printed     
against the fair fame of so good a      
,christian as ,cortez1 who had painted  
upon his banner an image of the         
,immaculate ,virgin1 and had bestowed   
upon her a large portion of his robbery2
 who had gratified the national taste   
for holy wars by writing one of the     
finest of ,spanish romances of history2 
who had induced the ,emperor to overlook
 his crime of levying war without a     
royal license by the bestowal of rich   
presents and rich provinces2 so that1 by
 the favor of the ,emperor and the favor
 of the ,inquisition1 a filibustero1    
whose atrocities surpassed those of     
every other on record1 has come down to 
us as a ,christian hero4  ,the          
innumerable little things about their   
,indian mounds force the conviction on  
the experienced eye of an ,american     
traveler that the ,aztecs were a horde  
of ,north ,american savages1 who had    

precipitated themselves first upon the  
table-land1 and afterward1 like the     
,goths from the table-lands of ,spain1  
extended their conquests over the       
expiring civilization of the coast      
country2 and this idea is confirmed by  
the fact that the magnificent ,toltec   
monuments of a remote antiquity1        
discovered in the tropical forests1 were
 apparently unknown to the ,aztecs4 ,the
 conquest of ,mexico1 like our conquest 
of ,california1 was in itself a small   
affair2 but both being immediately      
followed by extensive discoveries of the
 precious metals1 ,mexico rose as       
rapidly into opulence as ,san ,francisco
 has in our day4  ,the evidence that ,i 
have presented of the inexhaustible     
supplies of silver in ,northern ,mexico1
 near the route of our proposed ,pacific
 ,railroad1 may be interesting to       
legislators4 ,these masses of silver lie
 as undisturbed by their present owners 
as did the ,mexican discoveries of gold 
in ,california before the ,american     

conquest1 from the inertness of the     
local population1 and the want of       
facilities of communication with the    
city of ,mexico4  ,the notion that the  
,mormons are destined to overrun ,mexico
 is1 of course1 only an inference drawn 
from the exact parallel that exists     
between the circumstances under which   
this delusion has arisen and propagated 
itself and the history of ,mohammedanism
 from its rise until it overran the     
degenerated ,christians of the ,eastern 
empire4  ,from want of space1 ,i have   
been obliged to omit much valuable      
original matter procured for me by      
officers of government at the palace of 
,mexico1 to whom1 for the kind attention
 that ,i have upon all occasions        
received from them1 ,i heartily return  
my most sincere thanks4  ,r4 ,a4        
,,wilson4  ,rochester1 ,september #ast1 
#ahee4     ,,contents4   ,,chapter ,i4  
,arrival at ,vera ,cruz4--,its          
appearance from the ,steamer4--,getting 
,ashore4--,within the ,city4--,throwing 

,stones at an ,image4--,antiquity of    
,vera ,cruz4--,its ,commerce4--,the     
great ,norther of #aheb4--;,a little    
,steamer rides out the ,tempest4--,the  
,vomito1 or ,yellow ,fever4--,ravages of
 the ,vomito4--,the ,vomito brought from
 ,africa in ,slave-ships4--,a curious   
old ,book4--,our ,monk arrives at ,vera 
,cruz1 and what befalls him             
there4--,life in a ,convent4--,a nice   
young ,prior4--,our ,monk finds himself 
in another ,world                       
#ae  ,,chapter ,,ii4  ,an historical    
,sketch4--,truth seldom spoken of ,santa
 ,anna4--,santa ,anna's early           
,life4--,causes of the                  
,revolution4--,the ,virgin ,mary's      
,approval of ,king ,ferdinand4--,the    
,inquisition imprisons the              
,vice-,king4--,santa ,anna enters the   
,king's ,army4--,the plan of            
,iguala4--,the ,war of the two          
,virgins4--,santa ,anna pronounces for  
,independence                           
#cj  ,,chapter ,,iii4  ,incidents of    

,travel4--,the ,great ,road to the      
,interior4--,mexican ,diligences4--,the 
,priest was the first ,passenger        
robbed4--,the ,national ,bridge4--,a    
,conducta of ,silver4--,our ,monk visits
 ,old ,vera ,cruz4--,they grant to the  
,indians forty ,years of ,indulgence in 
return for their ,hospitality4--,the    
,artist among ,robbers4--,mexican       
,scholars in the ,united                
,states4--,encerro                      
#ci  ,,chapter ,,iv4  ,jalapa4--,the    
extraordinary ,beauty and ,fertility of 
this ,spot4--,jalap1 ,sarsaparilla1     
,myrtle1 ,vanilla1 ,cochineal1 and ,wood
 of ,tobasco4--,the charming ,situation 
of ,jalapa4--,its ,flowers and its      
,fruits4--,magnificent ,views4--,the    
tradition that ,jalapa was              
,paradise4--,a speck of ,war4--,the     
,marriage of a ,heretic4--,a gambling   
,scene in a ,convent                    
#eb  ,,chapter ,v4  ,the ,war of the    
,secret ,political ,societies of        
,mexico4--,the ,scotch and the ,york    

,free-,masons4--,anti-,masons4--,rival  
,classes compose ,scotch ,lodges4--,the 
,yorkinos4--,men desert from the ,scotch
 to the ,york ,lodges4--,law to suppress
 ,secret ,societies4--,the ,escoces1 or 
,scotch ,masons1 take up arms4--,the    
,battle4--,their total ,defeat      #fh 
,,chapter ,,vi4  ,mexico becomes an     
,empire4--,santa ,anna deposes the      
,emperor4--,he proclaims a              
,republic4--,he pronounces against the  
,election of ,pedraza1 the second       
,president4--,his ,situation in the     
,convent at ,oajaca4--,he captures the  
,spanish ,armada4--,and is made ,general
 of ,division                           
#gc  ,,chapter ,,vii4  ,in the ,stage   
and out of the ,stage4--,still          
climbing4--,a moment's ,view of all the 
,kingdoms of the ,world4--,again in     
,obscurity4--,the ,maguey1 or ,century  
,plant4--,the many uses of the          
,maguey4--,the intoxicating juice of the
 ,maguey4--,pulque4--,immense           
,consumption of ,pulque4--,city of      

,perote4--,castle of ,san ,carlos de    
,perote4--,starlight upon the           
,table-land4--,tequisquita4--,the ,bad  
,land4--,a very old ,beggar4--,arrive at
 ,puebla                       #gi      
,,chapter ,,viii4  ,pueblo4--,the       
,miracle of the ,angels4--,a ,city of   
,priests4--,marianna in ,bronze4--,the  
,vega of ,puebla4--,first ,view of the  
,pyramid of ,cholula4--,modern          
,additions to it4--,the ,view from its  
,top4--,quetzalcoatl4--,cholula and     
,tlascala4--,cholula without the        
,poetry4--,indian ,relics               
#hh  ,,chapter ,,ix4  ,a ,ride to       
,popocatapetl4--,the ,village of        
,atlizco4--,the old ,man of ,atlizco and
 the ,inquisition4--,a novel ,mode of   
,escape4--,an avenging ,ghost4--,the    
,vice-,king ,ravillagigedo4--,the ,court
 of the ,vice-,king and the             
,inquisition4--,ascent of               
,popocatapetl4--,how a ,party perished  
by ,night4--,the ,crater and the ,house 
in it4--,descent into the ,crater4--,the

 ,interior4--,the ,workmen in the       
,volcano4--,the ,view from              
,popocatapetl4--,the first ,white that  
climbed ,popocatapetl4--,the ,story of  
,corchado4--,corchado converts the      
,volcano into a ,sulphur-mine           
#aja  ,,chapter ,x4  ,texas4--,battle of
 ,madina4--,first ,introduction of      
,americans into ,texas4--,usurpation of 
,bustamente4--,texas owed no ,allegiance
 to the ,usurper4--,the good ,faith of  
the ,united ,states in the ,acquisition 
of ,louisiana and ,texas4--,santa ,anna 
pronounces against ,bustamente4--,santa 
,anna in ,texas4--,a ,mexican's         
,denunciation of the ,texan ,war4--,his 
,idea of our ,revolution4--,he complains
 of our grasping ,spirit4--,the right of
 the ,united ,states to occupy unsettled
 ,territory4--,a few more               
,pronunciamientos of ,santa ,anna4--,the
 ,adventures of ,santa ,anna to the     
present ,date4    #aac  ,,chapter ,,xi4 
,from ,puebla to ,mexico4--,the ,dread  
of ,robbers4--,the                      

,escort4--,tlascala4--,the              
,exaggerations of ,cortez and ,bernal   
,diaz4--,the ,truth about               
,tlascala4--,the ,advantages of         
,tlascala to ,cortez4--,who was ,bernal 
,diaz4--,who wrote his ,history4--,first
 ,view of ,mexico4                      
#abb  ,,chapter ,,xii4  ,acapulco4--,the
 ,advantages of a ,western ,voyage to   
,india4--,the great annual ,fair of     
,acapulco4--,the ,village and ,harbor of
 ,acapulco4--,the ,war of ,santa ,anna  
and ,alvarez4--,the                     
,retreat4--,traveling alone and         
unarmed4--,the ,peregrino               
,pass4--,quiricua and                   
,cretinism4--,chilpanzingo4--,an        
ill-clad                                
,judge4--,iguala4--,alpayaca4--,cuarnava
ca4                           #acb      
,,chapter ,,xiii4  ,california4--,pearl 
,fisheries4--,missions4--,indian        
,marriages4--,villages4--,precious      
,metals4--,the ,conquest of ,california 
compared with that of ,mexico4--,upper  

,california under the                   
,spaniards4--,mexican ,conquest of      
,california in #ahbe4--,the             
,march4--,the ,conquest4--,california   
under the ,mexicans4--,american         
,conquest4--,sinews of foreign          
,wars4--,a ,protestant and religious    
,war4--,early ,settlers                 
compared4--,mexico in the ,heyday of    
,prosperity4--,rich ,costume of the     
,women4--,superstitious ,worship4--,when
 ,i first saw ,california4--,lawyers    
without ,laws4--,a primitive ,court4--,a
 ,territorial ,judge in ,san            
,francisco4--,mistaken                  
,philanthropy4--,mexican ,side of the   
,picture4--,great ,alms4--,city of      
,mexico overwhelmed by a                
,water-spout4--,the ,superiority of     
,californians4                          
#adb  ,,chapter ,,xiv4  ,first ,sight of
 the ,valley of ,mexico4--,a ,venice in 
a mountain ,valley4--,an ,emperor       
waiting his ,murderers4--,cortez mowing 
down unarmed ,indians4--,a new kind of  

,piety4--,capture of an                 
,emperor4--,torturing an ,emperor to    
,death4--,the ,children paying the      
,penalty of their ,fathers'             
,crimes4--,the ,aztecs and other        
,indians4--,the ,difference is in the   
,historians4--,the ,superstitions of the
 ,indians4--,the ,valley of             
,mexico4--,an ,american ,survey of the  
,valley4--,a topographical ,view4--,the 
,ponds ,chalco1 ,xochimulco1 and        
,tezcuco were never ,lakes4             
#afg  ,,chapter ,,xv4  ,the ,two        
,valleys4--,the lake with a leaky       
,bottom4--,the ,water could not have    
been higher4--,nor could the ,lagunas or
 ,ponds have been much deeper4--,the    
,brigantines only flat-bottomed         
,boats4--,the ,causeway ,canals fix the 
size of the ,brigantines4--,the ,street 
,canals4--,stagnant ,water unfit for    
,canals4--,the probable ,dimensions of  
the ,city ,canals4--,difficulties of    
disproving a ,fiction4--,a ,dike or     
,levee4--,the ,canal of                 

,huehuetoca4--,the ,map of              
,cortez4--,wise ,provision of           
,providence4--,the ,fiction about the   
numerous ,cities in and about the ,lake 
#agf  ,,chapter ,,xvi4  ,the ,chinampas 
or ,water ,gardens4--,laws of ,nature   
not set aside4--,mud will not           
float4--,the present ,chinampas4--,they 
never could have been floating          
,gardens4--,relations of the ,chinampas 
to the ancient ,state of the ,lake in   
the ,valley                       #ahf  
,,chapter ,,xvii4  ,the gambling        
,festival of ,san                       
,augustine4--,suppressed by             
,government4--,the ,losses of the ,saint
 by the ,suppression of ,gambling4--,how
 ,travelers live in the ,interior4--,a  
,visit to the ,palace                   
#aib  ,,chapter ,,xviii4  ,visit to     
,contreras and ,san ,angel4--,the ,end  
of a brave ,soldier4--,a ,place of      
,skulls4--,a ,new ,england ,dinner4--,an
 ,adventure with                        
,robbers--doubtful4--,reasons for       

revisiting ,mexico4--,the ,battle at the
 ,mountain of ,crosses4--,a peculiar    
,variety of the ,cactus4--,three ,men   
gibbeted for robbing a ,bishop4--,a     
,court upon ,horseback4--,the retreat of
 ,cortez to ,otumba4--,a venerable      
,cypress ,grove4--,unexpectedly         
comfortable ,quarters4--,an ,english    
,dinner at ,tezcuco4--,pleasures unknown
 to the ,kings of ,tezcuco4--,relics of 
,tezcuco4--,the ,appearance of the      
,virgin ,mary at ,tezcuco4--,the        
,causeways of ,mexico                   
#aif  ,,chapter ,,xix4  ,the ,streets of
 ,tacuba4--,the ,spaniards and the      
,indian ,women4--,the ,retreat of       
,cortez4--,the ,aqueducts of            
,mexico4--,the ,english and ,american   
,burying-grounds4--,the ,protestant     
,president4--,the rival ,virgins4--,an  
,image out of ,favor4--,the ,aztecs and 
the ,spaniards                          
#bjh  ,,chapter ,,xx4  ,the ,paseo at   
,evening4--,ride to ,chapultepec4--,the 
old ,cypresses of ,chapultepec4--,the   

,capture of ,chapultepec4--,molina del  
,rey4--,tacubaya4--,don ,manuel         
,escandon4--,the ,tobacco               
,monopoly4--,the ,palace of             
,escandon4--,the                        
,desierto4--,hermits4--,monks in the    
,conflict with ,satan4--,our ,lady of   
,carmel                          #bai   
,,chapter ,,xxi4  ,walk to              
,guadalupe4--,our ,embassador kneeling  
to the ,host4--,an ,embassador with1 and
 one without ,lace4--,first sight of    
,santa ,anna4--,indian ,dance in        
,church4--,juan ,diego not ,saint       
,thomas4--,the ,miracle proved at       
,rome4--,the ,story of ,juan            
,diego4--,the holy ,well of             
,guadalupe4--,the ,temple of the        
,virgin4--,public ,worship interdicted  
by the ,archbishop4--,refuses to revoke 
his ,interdict4--,he fled to ,guadalupe 
and took ,sanctuary4--,refused to leave 
the ,altar4--,the ,arrest at the ,altar 
#bbi  ,,chapter ,,xxii4  ,the old       
,indian ,city of ,mexico4--,the         

,mosques4--,probable ,extent of         
,civilization4--,aztecs acquired ,arts  
of the ,toltecs4--,toltec ,civilization1
 ancient and original4--,the ,pyramid of
 ,papantla4--,the ,plunder of           
,civilization4--,mexico as described by 
,cortez4--,montezuma's ,court4--,the    
eight ,months that ,cortez held         
,montezuma4--,what happened for the next
 ten ,months4--,the ,siege of ,mexico by
 ,cortez4--,aztecs conquered by ,famine 
and ,thirst4--,heroes on ,paper and     
,victories without ,bloodshed4--,cortez 
and ,morgan      #bdb  ,,chapter        
,,xxiii4  ,the new ,city of             
,mexico4--,the ,discoveries of          
,gold4--,ruins at ,mexico4--,the ,monks1
 and what ,cortez gained by his         
,piety4--,the ,city of ,mexico again    
rebuilt4--,the ,city under              
,ravillagigedo4--,the ,national         
,palace4--,the ,cathedral4--,a whole    
,museum turned ,saints4--,all kneel     
together4--,the ,san ,carlos ,academy of
 ,arts4--,reign of ,carlos ,,iii4--,the 

,mineria                          #bei  
,,chapter ,,xxiv4  ,the ,national       
,museum4--,marianna and ,cortez4--,the  
small ,value of this ,collection4--,the 
,botanic ,garden4--,the ,market of      
,santa ,anna4--,the ,acordada           
,prison4--,the unfortunate              
,prisoner4--,the ,causes of that ,night 
of ,terror4--,the ,sacking of the       
,city4--,the ,parian4--,the ,causes of  
the ,ruin of the ,parian4--,change in   
the ,standard of ,color4--,the ,ashes of
 ,cortez                           #bga 
,,chapter ,,xxv4  ,the ,priests gainers 
by the ,independence4--,improved        
,condition of the ,peons4--,mexican     
,mechanics4--,the ,oppression they      
suffer4--,low state of the ,mechanic    
,arts4--,the ,story of the              
,portress4--,charity of the ,poor4--,the
 ,whites not superior to                
,meztizos4--,license and ,woman's       
,rights at ,mexico4--,the probable      
,future of ,mexico4--,mormonism         
impending over ,mexico4--,mormonism and 

,mohammedanism                          
#bhj  ,,chapter ,,xxvi4  ,the ,plaza of 
the ,inquisition4--,the two ,modes of   
human ,sacrifice1 the ,aztec and the    
,spanish4--,threefold ,power of the     
,inquisition4--,visit to the ,house of  
the ,inquisition4--,the ,prison and     
,place of ,torture4--,the ,story of     
,william ,lamport4--,the little and the 
big ,auto da ,fe4--,the ,inquisition the
 real ,government4--,ruin of ,spanish   
,nationality4--,the political ,uses of  
the,inquisition4--,political ,causes of 
the ,bigotry of ,philip ,,ii4--,his     
eldest ,son dies mysteriously4--,the    
,dominion of ,priests continues tillthe 
,french ,invasion                       
#bib  ,,chapter ,,xxvii4  ,miracles and 
,earthquakes4--,the ,saints in ,times of
 ,ignorance4--,the ,eruption of         
,jorullo4--,the ,curse of the           
,capuchins4--,the ,consequences of the  
,curse4--,the unfulfilled ,curse4--,the 
,population of the                      
,republic4--,depopulation from #ahaj to 

#ahdj4--,the ,mixture of ,whites and    
,indians not prolific4--,the pure       
,indians4--,the ,meztizos4--,the ,white 
,population4--,negroes and              
,zambos4--,the ,jew and the ,law of     
,generation4--,the same ,law applies to 
,cattle4--,it governs the ,generation of
 ,plants4--,intemperance and            
,generation4--,meztizo ,plants          
short-lived4--,mexico can not be        
resuscitated4--,she can not recover her 
,northern ,provinces         #cjd       
,,chapter ,,xxviii4  ,the ,church of    
,mexico4--,its present ,condition and   
,power4--,the ,number of the            
,religios4--,the ,wealth of the         
,church4--,the ,money-power of the      
,church4--,the ,power of                
,assassination4--,educating the ,people 
robs the ,priest4--,making and adoring  
,images4--,the ,progress downward       
#cai  ,,chapter ,,xxix4  ,causes that   
have diminished the ,religios--,the     
,provincials and ,superiors of          
,convents4--,the perfect                

,organization4--,the ,monks4--,san      
,franciscans4--,dominicans4--,carmelites
4--,the well-reputed ,orders4--,the     
,jesuits4--,the ,nuns4--,how ,novices   
are procured4--,contrasted with a       
,quaker ,prison4--,the poor deluded     
,nun4--,a good old ,quaker ,woman not a 
,saint4--,protestantism felt in ,mexico 
#ccj  ,,chapter ,,xxx4  ,the ,necessity 
of large ,capitals in ,mexico4--,the    
,finances and ,revenue4--,the           
impoverished ,creditors of the          
,state4--,princely ,wealth of           
,individuals                            
#cdh  ,,chapter ,,xxxi4  ,visit to      
,pachuca and ,real del ,monte4--,otumba 
and ,tulanzingo4--,the grand ,canal of  
,huehuetoca4--,the ,silver ,mines of    
,pachuca4--,hakal ,silver ,mines4--,real
 del ,monte ,mines4--,the               
,anglo-,mexican ,mining ,fever4--,my    
,equipment to descend a ,mine4--,the    
great ,steam-pump4--,descending the     
great ,shaft4--,galleries and ,veins of 
,ore4--,among the ,miners one thousand  

,feet under ,ground4--,the ,barrel      
,process of refining ,silver4--,another 
refining ,establishment                 
#ceb  ,,chapter ,,xxxii4  ,a ,visit to  
the ,refining-mills4--,the ,falls and   
basaltic ,columns of ,regla4--,how a    
,title is acquired to ,silver           
,mines4--,the ,story of ,peter          
,terreros1 ,count of ,regla4--,the most 
successful of ,miners4--,silver obtained
 by fusing the ,ore4--,silver benefited 
upon the ,patio4--,the ,tester of the   
,patio4--,the chemical ,processes       
employed4--,the ,heirs of the ,count of 
,regla4--,the ,ruin caused by ,civil    
,war4--,the ,history of the ,english    
,company                    #cfb        
,,chapter ,,xxxiii4                     
,toluca4--,queretaro1 ,guanajuato1 and  
,zacatecas4--,fresnillo4--,romancing4--,
a lucky ,priest4--,san ,luis            
,potosi4--,the ,valenciana at           
,guanajuato4--,under-mining4--,a ,name  
of ,blasphemy4--,the ,los               
,rayas4--,immense ,sums taken from ,los 

,rayas4--,warlike ,indians in           
,zacatecas4                             
#cgb  ,,chapter ,,xxxiv4  ,sonora and   
,sonora ,land ,speculators seeking      
,annexation4--,sonora and its           
,attractions4--,the ,abundance and      
,purity of ,silver in ,sonora4--,silver 
found in large ,masses4--,the ,jesus    
,maria1 ,refugio1 and ,eulalia          
,mines4--,a ,creation of ,silver at     
,arizpa4--,the ,pacific                 
,railroad4--,sonora now valueless for   
want of personal ,security4--,the ,hopes
 of replenishing the ,spanish ,finances 
from ,sonora blasted by ,war4--,report  
of the ,mineria4--,sonora4--,chihuahua  
#chb  ,,appendix4  ,a4 ,mineria ,report 
on the ,mineral ,riches of ,sonora      
#cia  ,b4 ,report on the ,mineral       
,riches of ,chihuahua                   
#cih  ,c4 ,report on the ,mineral       
,riches of ,coahuila                    
#djj  ,d4 ,report on the ,mineral       
,riches of ,lower ,california           
#djb  ,e4 ,the ,remains of ,cortez      

#dje     ,,mexico ,,and ,,its           
,,religion4     ,,chapter ,i4  ,arrival 
at ,vera ,cruz4--,its appearance from   
the ,steamer4--,getting                 
,ashore4--,within the ,city4--,throwing 
,stones at an ,image4--,antiquity of    
,vera ,cruz4--,its ,commerce4--,the     
great ,norther of #aheb4--;,a little    
,steamer rides out the ,tempest4--,the  
,vomito1 or ,yellow ,fever4--,ravages of
 the ,vomito4--,the ,vomito brought from
 ,africa in ,slave-ships4--,a curious   
old ,book4--,our ,monk arrives at ,vera 
,cruz1 and what befalls him             
there4--,life in a ,convent4--,a nice   
young ,prior4--,our ,monk finds himself 
in another ,world4   ,it was a stormy   
evening in the month of ,november1      
#ahec1 when the noble steamship ,texas  
cast anchor in the open roadstead of    
,vera ,cruz1 under the lee of the low   
island on which stands the famous       
fortress of ,san ,juan de ,ulua4 ,hard  
by lay a ,british vessel ready to steam 
out into the teeth of the storm1 as soon

 as the officers should receive from us 
a budget of newspapers4 ,we were too    
late to obtain a permit to land that    
evening1 so that we lay tossing at our  
anchors all night1 and until the sun and
 the shore-boats appeared together on   
the morning following4   ,,vera ,,cruz4 
,the finest view of ,vera ,cruz is from 
the harbor2 and the best time to look   
upon it is when a bright sun1 just risen
 above a watery horizon1 is reflected   
back from the antiquated domes and      
houses1 which are visible above the old 
massive city wall4  ,soon we were in one
 of the canoes alongside1 and were      
quickly transported to the mole1 on     
which we landed1 among bales of cotton  
and bundles of freight that encumbered  
it4 ,the iron gate of the city was now  
opened1 and we passed through it1 mixed 
up in the crowd of bare-footed          
cargadores or porters1 who were carrying
 upon their backs bales of cotton1 and  
depositing them in various piles in     
front of the custom-house4 ,how quietly 

and quickly these cargadores do their   
work6 and what great power of muscle    
they have acquired by long application  
at this laborious calling6              
,illustration3 ,,vera ,,cruz4  ,what a  
contrast does this city present to ,new 
,orleans1 which we had left only four   
days before6 ,instead of the noise and  
bustle of a commercial emporium1 all    
here is as quiet and as cleanly as a    
church-yard4 ,even the chiming of bells 
for the dying and the dead1 which so    
incessantly disturbs the living by night
 and day in the season of the vomito or 
yellow fever1 is no longer heard1 for it
 is the healthy season--the season of   
,northers4 ,the only noise is the little
 bells upon the necks of the donkeys1   
that are carrying about kegs of water   
for family use4 ,the chain-gang have    
completed their morning task of         
cleansing the streets and gutters1 and  
as they are led away to their breakfast1
 a clank now and then of their chain    
reminds the traveler that crime has been

 as busy here as in more bustling       
cities4 ,morning mass is over1 and      
bonnetless women of low and high degree 
are returning to their homes2 some      
wearing mantillas of satin1 black and   
shining as their raven hair1 which are  
pinned by a jeweled pin upon the top of 
their heads2 others1 more modern in     
their tastes1 sport ,india shawls2 while
 the common class still cling to the    
rebosa1 which they so ingeniously twirl 
around their heads and chests as to     
include in its narrow folds their arms1 
and all above the waist except the face4
 ,priests appear in black gowns1 and fur
 hats with such ample brims that they   
lap and are fastened together upon the  
top of their heads4 ,the armed patrol1  
in dirty cotton uniforms1 and soldiers  
in broadcloth1 are returning from       
morning muster2 for in this hot climate 
the burden of the day's duties is       
discharged before breakfast4 ,under the 
arches 7portales71 and in the open      
market-place1 men and women are driving 

a brisk trade1 in the most quiet way1 in
 meats1 and vegetables1 and huxter's    
wares4 ,nature has denied to the butcher
 of hot climates the privilege of       
salting meat1 but he makes amends for   
this defect by cutting his tough beef   
into strips1 which he rubs over with    
salt1 and offers to sell to you by the  
yard4 ,vera ,cruz is now as venerable a 
looking town as when ,i was here before1
 although the houses1 and the plastered 
walls1 and tops of the stone churches   
seem to have had a new coating of       
,spanish white within a few months4 ,but
 the malaria from the swamps in the time
 of the vomito1 or the salt atmosphere  
driven upon it by the ,northers1 soon   
replaces the familiar dingy hue4 ,the   
battered face of the stone image1 at the
 side of the deserted church1 has       
received a few more bruises since ,i was
 last here2 for the marriageable young  
misses still most religiously believe   
that a stone thrown by a fair hand that 
shall hit the image full in the face1   

will obtain for the thrower a husband1  
and an advantageous settlement for life4
 ,this is a small city1 or the poor     
image could not have endured this kind  
of bruising for two hundred years4  ,the
 first ,spaniard that landed here was   
,grijalva1#a in #aeah1 in a trading     
expedition fitted out by ,valasquez1    
,governor of ,cuba4 ,he was so          
successful in his traffic with the      
natives1 as to obtain1 in exchange for a
 few trinkets1 #ad1jjj worth of gold    
dust4 ,his success so encouraged        
,valasquez1 that he fitted out a much   
larger expedition the following year1   
the command of which he gave to         
,hernando ,cortez1 of whom we shall have
 occasion to speak more at large        
hereafter4 ,cortez1 at first1 landed on 
the island of ,ulua1 in front of the    
site of the present city4 ,but when he  
commenced his conquest he transported   
his boats to the mouth of the river     
,antigua1 where he founded his intended 
city1 a little way below the place where

 the national bridge now stands1 and    
gave it the name of the ,rich ,city of  
the ,true ,cross 7,villa ,rica de ,vera 
,cruz72 and there it was where he       
destroyed his little vessels4 ,ninety   
years after the conquest of ,mexico1 the
 ,marquis ,de ,monterey removed the port
 back to ,ulua1 and founded the present 
city of ,vera ,cruz4 ,it was at first   
built of wood1 but having been several  
times burned down1 it was at length     
built of its present material--a porous 
stone full of animal remains1 obtained  
from the bottom of the harbor4 ,this    
stone1 when laid in and covered over    
with cement1 forms a very durable       
building-material4 ,the castle1 which   
stands upon the island of ,ulua1 is now 
fast going to decay4   ,,commerce ,,of  
,,vera ,,cruz4  ,as a fortification it  
is no longer of great value1#b although 
it is computed that more than           
#af1jjj1jjj was expended in its         
erection4 ,in fact1 its only present    
practical advantage is derived from the 

light-house which stands upon one of its
 towers4  ,this town1 although it has   
been the terror of seafaring men for the
 last three hundred years1 has1 for a   
like period of time1 enjoyed an enviable
 commerce4 ,nearly three-fourths of all 
the silver that has been shipped to     
,europe from ,america during that long  
period has been sent from this port1    
besides the other productions of the    
country1 such as cochineal1 vanilla1    
wood of ,tobasco1 sarsaparilla1 and     
jalap4 ,to all this we must add that all
 the trade of ,spain with ,japan1       
,china1 and the ,philipine ,islands1 was
 carried across ,mexico from ,acapulco1 
on the ,pacific1 to be shipped from     
,vera ,cruz to ,spain4 ,during the long 
period we have named1 this was the only 
port on the ,atlantic side where foreign
 commerce was allowed2 and this was     
restricted to ,spain alone1 and to a    
single fleet of merchant ships that came
 and went annually1 until about fifty   
years before the ,mexican independence1 

when free commerce was allowed with all 
the ,spanish world4 ,from a history of  
the commerce of ,vera ,cruz1 just       
published at ,mexico1 ,i find that its  
annual average did not vary greatly from
 #ab1jjj1jjj importations against       
#ah1jjj1jjj exportations4 ,the extra    
#f1jjj1jjj being about the annual       
average of the royal revenue derived    
from ,new ,spain1 as this country was   
then called4 ,silver constituted the    
bulk of this #ah1jjj1jjj1 both in weight
 and in value4 ,during the last fifty   
years of ,spanish dominion1 this        
commerce1 extended1 as we have said1 to 
all ,spanish possessions1 was           
monopolized by a company of merchants   
styled the ,consulado of ,vera ,cruz4   
,under the management of this company it
 averaged as high as #bb1jjj1jjj4 ,the  
revolution broke up this monopoly1 and  
almost annihilated the commerce of this 
port1 but it rapidly revived after the  
,spaniards were driven out of the       
castle1 and from this time it has gone  

on increasing1 until now it amounts to  
#bf1jjj1jjj2 the imports and exports    
being equal1 as there is now no ,king's 
revenue4 ,this commerce is now carried  
on principally with the ,united ,states1
 since the establishment of a line of   
steamers to ,new ,orleans4 ,the most    
important article of importation is raw 
cotton1 for the supply of the great     
manufactories in the interior of        
,mexico4 ,the silver goes principally to
 ,england1 and is drawn again in favor  
of the cotton purchaser4 ,there is also 
a large import trade in agricultural    
implements1 steam-machinery for the     
sugar-mills and the silver mines1       
besides heavy importation of silks and  
wines from ,france and ,spain4 ,with    
this hasty notice we are compelled to   
quit a subject which is the theme of a  
most interesting volume4   ,a ,,norther4
  ,the first time ,i saw ,vera ,cruz was
 during the great ,norther of #aheb4 ,i 
was then returning homeward from the    
city of ,mexico4 ,a fierce ,norther was 

blowing1 and the harbor was filled with 
shipping that could not bear up against 
such a tornado4 ,i stood among the      
anxious multitude1 watching the symptoms
 of the rising storm4 ,we looked        
intently at the heavens as they gathered
 blackness1 and saw far off toward the  
horizon the clouds and the waves        
mingling together into one great        
vaporous mass4 ,now and then we were    
tantalized by brief intervals of bright 
skies2 but they were again quickly      
overcast and shrouded in by more intense
 darkness1 while the temperature fell to
 a degree of chilliness unusual in this 
latitude4 ,the howling of the wind was  
terrific4 ,where we stood we were near  
enough to see1 or at least to catch     
glimpses of what was taking place on    
board the shipping4 ,all extra anchors  
that could be got out were soon thrown  
into the sea4 ,but to little purpose2   
for a coral bottom is but a poor        
holding-ground in a ,norther4 ,one after
 another the vessels began to drag      

toward the shore2 and even the castle   
itself seemed at times as though it     
would be torn from its rocky foundations
 and dashed upon the town1 so violent   
was the tempest4 ,the terror of those on
 land was hardly describable as they saw
 the shipping dragging around toward    
apparent destruction to both vessels and
 crews4 ,now and then a vessel held a   
little by some new obstacle that the    
anchor had caught hold of1 but soon the 
resistance gave way1 and then it moved  
on again1 approaching the shore1 whither
 all now were tending1 except a few that
 occupied a good holding-ground in the  
lee of the castle and island4 ,all did  
not drag at once1 or drag together2 but 
one by one their power of endurance gave
 out1 and one by one they came dragging 
on1 when they had no longer any help1   
and little hope1 if the storm continued4
 ,it can not last long1 the spectators  
would mutter1 rather in hope than       
expectation1 for the only chance for the
 safety of the vessels was in the       

lulling of the tempest4 ,yet it did     
continue against the constant           
predictions of all1 and momentarily     
increased in violence4 ,hope seemed to  
give way to despair as vessel after     
vessel approached the land2 and as they 
were dashed into pieces men held their  
breath1 while the hardy seamen were     
struggling in the waves toward the      
beach4 ,one staunch vessel1 without     
cargo1 was carried broadside on1 and her
 crew leaped out of her1 and ran off in 
safety4 ,many single shipwrecks have    
caused greater destruction of property1 
and immensely greater loss of life2 but 
here was the individual struggle of each
 separate mariner1 made in the very     
sight of those who could render no      
assistance1 but must stand idle         
spectators4 ,here strong swimmers were  
rendered powerless by the tempest1 and  
were perishing from exhaustion in vain  
efforts to swim ashore4  ,from this     
scene of disaster we turned to look back
 upon a more equal contest going on     

between two of the elements3 a small    
steamer--a little crazy thing1 it       
seemed1 almost ready to be blown to     
pieces2 but it was gallantly facing the 
tempest1 and riding out bravely against 
the combined force of wind and waves4   
,but she mounted the waves1 one after   
another1 without any difficulty1 though 
held by but a single anchor1 as the     
strain on her cable was eased away by   
the action of her paddle-wheels1 which  
were kept in motion by an engine of the 
smallest class ever put into a river    
boat4 ,this was said to be the most     
violent ,norther that had visited ,vera 
,cruz in a century4 ,it destroyed       
sixteen vessels1 and caused the loss of 
thirteen lives2 and yet so small an     
amount of steam-power was fully able to 
bear up against the dreaded fury of a   
,norther1 and to insure the safety of   
the vessel4   ,,the ,,buccaneers4  ,vera
 ,cruz1 like almost every other ,spanish
 ,american seaport town1 has its        
traditional tales of the horrors        

committed by the buccaneers1 or         
filibusters4 ,the history of the        
buccaneers1 their origin1 their fearful 
exploits of blood1 the terror that their
 name even now inspires in the minds of 
all ,spanish ,americans1 are too well   
known to demand a repetition here1      
though we may give the substance of     
their story1 by saying that they had    
their origin in a laudable effort to    
avenge the gross wrongs inflicted by the
 ,spaniards upon the honest traders of  
other nations1 while trafficking with   
the native inhabitants of ,america1     
within the region which the ,pope1 as   
the representative of the ,almighty1 had
 bestowed upon the ,king of ,spain1 to  
conquer and subdue for the benefit of   
the ,church4 ,elizabeth of ,england     
raised the question of the validity of  
the title of the ,king of ,spain derived
 from so questionable a source1 and     
insisted that he had no rights in       
,america beyond those acquired by       
discovery1 followed up by possession4   

,but the ,king of ,spain was too good a 
,catholic to have his right called in   
question1 and when a heretic ship was   
caught among the ,west ,indies1 the     
avarice of priests and officials1 and   
their holy horror at the approach of    
heresy to these regions1 were exhibited 
in their dealings with the cargo and the
 unhappy crew4 ,the inhuman treatment   
that the ,spaniards inflicted upon      
honest traders aroused men to reprisals2
 and all ships venturing into these seas
 went fully armed4 ,private war was the 
natural consequence of ,spanish cruelty 
and injustice2 and the superior prowess 
of the ,dutch and ,english soon made sad
 havoc with the plunder which the       
,spaniards had wrung from the natives   
for a hundred years and more4  ,the     
filibusters finally degenerated into    
pirates and robbers1 and the treasure   
ships 7galleons7 of ,spain1 and the     
towns upon her ,american coasts1 were   
the victims of their depredations4 ,the 
fury of the buccaneers was mainly       

directed against the monks1 and when    
they sacked a town1 they never failed to
 pay an especial visitation to the      
convents4 ,when ,vera ,cruz was sacked  
they showed their contempt for the      
clergy by compelling the monks and nuns 
to carry the plunder of the town to     
their private boats2 thereby grieving   
these holy men most of all1 if we may   
believe the old chronicles1 because they
 could have no share in the rich plunder
 loaded upon their own backs4  ,the     
second day after our arrival in ,vera   
,cruz a fellow-passenger1 who had been  
sick all the voyage1 died of the yellow 
fever1 which he had contracted at ,new  
,orleans1 or on the ,mississippi2 which 
was probably the first time that a      
person ever died in ,vera ,cruz of      
vomito that had been contracted in the  
,united ,states4   ,,the ,,vomito4      
,this is a fitting place to speak of    
this disease and of its ravages1 which  
we witnessed before leaving ,new        
,orleans4 ,it was the time for the      

frosts to make their appearance when ,i 
left ,new ,york1 and with the           
expectation of seeing the ground covered
 with this antidote to the fever1 crowds
 were returning from the north1 though  
the marks of the pestilence were still  
visible along our route4 ,it had        
followed the main stream of travel far  
northward1 and now1 as we ventured upon 
its track1 it seemed like traversing the
 valley of the shadow of death4 ,terror 
had committed greater ravages than the  
pestilence2 the villages and cities on  
our route were half deserted2 stagnation
 was visible in all commercial places2  
and when we reached ,new ,orleans this  
strange state of things was doubly      
intensified3 it looked more like a city 
of the dead1 or a city depopulated1 than
 the emporium of the ,mississippi       
valley4 ,a stranger might have supposed 
that a great funeral service had just   
been performed1 in which all of the     
inhabitants remaining in town had acted 
the part of mourners4 ,the city itself  

had been so thoroughly cleansed1 that it
 might challenge comparison with one of 
the most cleanly villages of ,holland1  
while its footways seemed almost too    
pure to be trod upon4 ,nothing appears  
half so gloomy as such a place when     
deserted of its principal inhabitants4  
,this disease was unknown in ,america   
until the opening of the ,african       
slave-trade4 ,it is an ,african disease1
 intensified and aggravated by the      
rottenness and filthy habits of the     
human cargoes that brought it to        
,america4 ,it was entirely unknown at   
,vera ,cruz until brought there in the  
slave-ship of #afii4c ,in like manner it
 was carried to all the ,west ,india    
islands4 ,when the negro insurrection in
 ,san ,domingo drove the white          
population into exile1 the disease was  
carried by the immigrants to all the    
cities of the ,united ,states1 and even 
to the most healthy localities in the   
interior of ,massachusetts4 ,old people 
still remember when ,new ,york was so   

completely deserted that its principal  
streets were boarded up1 and watchmen   
went their rounds of silent streets by  
day as well as by night4 ,the fever of  
the present year can be traced directly 
to this accursed traffic4 ,slaves had   
been smuggled into ,rio ,janeiro1 who   
brought the disease in its most virulent
 form from ,africa4 ,in that city it was
 carrying its hundreds to the grave1    
when a vessel cleared for ,new ,orleans1
 having the disease on board4 ,this     
vessel disseminated it in the upper     
wards of the city1 while at the same    
time there arrived from ,cuba another   
vessel which1 from a like cause1 had    
caught the vomito at ,havana1 and from  
this second vessel the disease was      
disseminated in the lower wards of ,new 
,orleans4 ,it was the meeting of these  
two independent currents of the fever in
 the centre of the city1 on ,canal      
,street1 that caused that fatal day on  
which three hundred victims went to     
their long homes4 ,such were the fruits 

of this offspring of an inhuman trade in
 a single city1 in a single day4        
,,friar ,,page4  ,i learn from the      
preface of a book in the ,spanish       
language1 which ,i purchased at ,mexico1
 entitled ,the ,voyages of ,thomas      
,page1 that a ,dominican monk of that   
name1 the brother of the ,royalist      
,governor of ,oxford under ,charles ,i41
 was smuggled into ,mexico by his       
,dominican brethren1 against the ,king's
 order1 which prohibited the entry of   
,englishmen into that country4 ,as a    
missionary monk he resided in ,mexico1  
or ,new ,spain1 as it was then called1  
eighteen years4 ,on his return to       
,england he published an account of the 
country which he visited1 under the     
title of ,a ,survey of the ,west        
,indies4 ,this being the first and last 
book ever written by a resident of ,new 
,spain that had not been submitted to   
the most rigid censorship by the        
,inquisition1 it produced so profound a 
sensation1 that1 by order of the great  

,colbert1 ,french ,minister of ,state1  
it was expurgated and translated into   
,french by an ,irish ,catholic of the   
name of ,o',neil4 ,from this expurgated 
,french edition the ,spanish copy now   
before me was translated4 ,from this    
,spanish edition ,i had made the several
 translations that are found in this1   
and the following chapters4 ,i have     
since found a black letter copy of the  
original1 printed at ,london1 in #afgg2 
but ,i have concluded to use the        
translations1 as furnishing a more      
official character to the picture       
therein drawn of the grossly immoral    
state of the clergy1 and of the         
religious orders4 ,as it is from actual 
observation1 and has the sanction of the
 censorship1 it must be of more value to
 my readers than any account of personal
 observations that ,i might write4 ,this
 is my apology for copying the most     
interesting portions of a long forgotten
 book4  ,when we came to land1 says our 
author1 we saw all the inhabitants of   

the city 7,vera ,cruz7 had congregated  
in the ,plaza 7public square7 to receive
 us4 ,the communities of monks were also
 there1 each one preceded by a large    
crucifix4 ,the ,dominicans1 the ,san    
,franciscans1 the ,mercedarios1 and the 
,jesuits1 in order to conduct the ,virey
 7the ,viceroy7 of ,mexico as far as the
 ,cathedral4 ,the ,jesuits and friars   
from the ships leaped upon the shore    
more expeditiously than did the ,virey1 
the ,marquis ,seralvo1 and his wife4    
,many of them 7the monks7 on stepping on
 shore kissed it1 considering that it   
was a holy cause that brought them      
here--the conversion of the ,indians1   
who had before adored and sacrificed to 
demons2 others kneeled down and gave    
thanks to the ,virgin ,mary and other   
saints of their devotion1 and then all  
the monks hastened to incorporate       
themselves with their respective orders 
in the place in which they severally    
stood4 ,the procession1 as soon as      
formed1 directed itself to the          

,cathedral1 where the consecrated       
wafer#d was exposed upon the high altar1
 and to which all kneeled as they       
entered4444 ,the services ended1 the    
,virey was conducted to his lodgings by 
the first ,alcalde1 the magistrates of  
the town1 and judges1 who had descended 
from the capitol to receive him1 besides
 the soldiers of the garrison and the   
ships4 ,those of the religious orders   
who had just arrived were conducted to  
their respective convents1 crosses1 as  
before1 being carried at the head of    
each community4 ,friar ,john presented  
7us7 his missionaries to the ,prior of  
the ,convent of ,san ,domingo1 who      
received us kindly1 and directed        
sweetmeats to be given to us1 and also  
there was given to each of us a cup of  
that ,indian beverage which the ,indians
 call chocolate4  ,this first little act
 of kindness was only a prelude to a    
greater one4 ,that is to say1 it was the
 introduction to a sumptuous dinner1    
composed of flesh and fish of every     

description1 in which there was no lack 
of turkeys and capons4 ,all set out with
 the intent of manifesting to us the    
abundance of the country1 and not for   
the purpose of worldly ostentation4   ,a
 ,,nice ,,young ,,prior4  ,the ,prior of
 ,vera ,cruz was neither old nor severe1
 as the men selected to govern          
communities of youthful religious are   
accustomed to be4 ,on the contrary1 he  
was in the flower of his age1 and had   
all the manner of a joyful and diverting
 youth4 ,his fathership1 as they told   
us1 had acquired the priory by means of 
a gift of a thousand ducats1 which he   
had sent to the ,father ,provincial4    
,after dinner he invited some of us to  
visit his cell1 and there it was we came
 to know the levity of his life4 ,it    
exhibited little of the appearance of a 
life of penance and self-mortification4 
,we expected to find in the habitation  
of a prelate of such an establishment a 
most magnificent library1 which would   
furnish an index of his learning and of 

his taste for letters4 ,but we saw      
nothing more than a dozen old books     
lying in a corner1 and covered with dust
 and cobwebs1 as if they had hid        
themselves for shame at the neglect with
 which the treasures they contained had 
been treated1 and that a guitar should  
be preferred to them4  ,the cell of the 
,prior was richly tapestried and adorned
 with feathers of birds of ,michoacan2  
the walls were hung with various        
pictures of merit2 rich rugs of silk    
covered the tables2 porcelain of ,china 
filled the cupboards and sideboards2 and
 there were vases and bowls containing  
preserved fruits and most delicate      
sweetmeats4 ,our enthusiastic companions
 did not fail to be scandalized at such 
an exhibition1 which they looked upon as
 a manifestation of worldly vanity1 so  
foreign to the poverty of a begging     
friar4 ,but those among us that had     
sailed from ,spain with the intent of   
living at their ease1 and of enjoying   
the pleasures which riches would        

produce1 exulted at the sight of such   
great opulence1 and they desired to     
establish themselves in a country where 
they could so quickly win fortunes so   
secure and abundant4#e ,the holy ,prior 
talked to us only of his ancestry1 of   
his good parts1 of the influence which  
he had with the ,father ,provincial1 of 
the love which the principal ladies and 
the wives of the richest merchants      
manifested to him1 of his beautiful     
voice1 of his consummate skill in music4
 ,in fact1 that we might not doubt him  
in this last particular1 he took the    
guitar and sung a sonnet which he had   
composed to a certain ,amaryllis4 ,this 
was a new scandal to our newly-arrived  
religious1 which afflicted some of them 
to see such libertinage in a prelate1   
who ought1 on the contrary1 to have set 
an example of penance and               
self-mortification1 and should shine    
like a mirror in his conduct and words4 
,when we had satiated our ears with the 
delicacy of music1 our eyes with the    

beauty of such rich stuffs of cotton1 of
 silk1 and of feathers1 then our        
reverend ,prior directed us to take from
 his dispensaries a prodigious quantity 
of every species of dainties to allure  
the taste or satisfy the appetite4      
,truly we seemed in another world1 by   
being transported from ,europe to       
,america4 ,our senses had been changed  
from what they had been the night and   
day before1 while listening to the      
hoarse sounds of the mariners1 when the 
abyss of the sea was at our feet1 and   
when we drank fetid water1 and inhaled  
the stench of pitch4 ,in the ,prior's   
cell of the ,convent of ,vera ,cruz1 we 
listened to a melodious voice           
accompanied with an harmonious          
instrument1 we saw treasures and riches1
 we ate exquisite confectioneries1 we   
breathed amber and musk1 with which he  
had perfumed his sirups and conserves4  
,o1 that delicious ,prior6        #a    
,apuntes ,historicos de ,vera ,cruz1 p4 
#ajb4        #b ,esterior ,comercio de  

,mexico4 ,m4 ,m4 ,lerdo de ,tegido4     
,mexico1       #ahec4        #c ,apuntes
 ,historicos de ,vera ,cruz1 p4 #abi4   
#d ,called1 in the ,spanish translation1
 ,the most holy       ,sacrament2 but in
 the ,english original1 ,the bread ,god4
        #e ,these missionary monks were 
on their way to ,manilla and the        
,spanish ,east ,indies by the road      
across ,mexico4     ,,chapter ,,ii4  ,an
 historical ,sketch4--,truth seldom     
spoken of ,santa ,anna4--,santa ,anna's 
early ,life4--,causes of the            
,revolution4--,the ,virgin ,mary's      
,approval of ,king ,ferdinand4--,the    
,inquisition imprisons the              
,vice-,king4--,santa ,anna enters the   
,king's ,army4--,the plan of            
,iguala4--,the ,war of the two          
,virgins4--,santa ,anna pronounces for  
,independence4   ,before commencing our 
journey to the interior1 we must break  
the thread of our narrative by a brief  
biographical sketch3 for this town is   
the birth-place1 and here began the     

public career of that man whose life has
 become the history of his country4     
,with him the ,mexican ,republic began1 
and with him it has been terminated4 ,in
 #ahbb he was first to proclaim a       
,republic in the ,plaza of ,vera ,cruz2 
and when ,i stood in the ,plaza of the  
city of ,mexico1 in the winter of #ahed1
 ,i heard him proclaimed absolute ruler 
of a state which had already ceased to  
be a ,republic4 ,this was not the first 
time that he had been raised to absolute
 authority in ,mexico1 but the third    
time that this had occurred in his      
checkered career--a career that         
resembles more the vicissitudes in the  
life of a hero of ,spanish romance than 
the memoirs of a living politician4     
,,santa ,,anna4  ,santa ,anna is a man  
of whom the truth has seldom been       
spoken2 for no man can raise himself    
from a humble position to be the        
embodiment of all the powers of the     
state without creating a host of        
enemies2 nor can a man be long in       

possession of absolute authority without
 raising up a tribe of flatterers4 ,to  
the one1 he is every thing that is      
shocking to humanity2 while to the other
 he is the perfection of all the moral  
qualities4 ,this scurrilous manner in   
which all political discussions are     
carried on in ,mexico1 has always       
furnished a ready apology for the       
suppression of liberty of speech1 and   
for the enforcement of the ,mexican law 
of ostracism in turn by every party in  
power4  ,as we ,americans have nothing  
to hope from his friendship1 and nothing
 to fear from the displeasure of ,santa 
,anna1 we are able to take a correct    
view of his character from the records1 
and to affirm that he is neither a      
saint1 as represented by one party1 nor 
a monster1 as represented by the other2 
and as greatness is a comparative term1 
and goodness is often used in a         
comparative sense1 we may also add that 
he is the first of ,mexican statesmen1  
and as good as the best of his rivals4  

,he has suffered unnumbered and         
overwhelming defeats1 which have so     
exhibited his recuperative talents as to
 attract the admiration of foreigners4  
,other aspirants have risen to popular  
favor1 and then fallen1 one after the   
other1 and have disappeared4 ,but ,santa
 ,anna's falls have ever been a prelude 
to his rising again to a greater        
elevation2 and there is no point of     
elevation to which he has risen from    
which he has not been ignominiously     
hurled4 ,he is a politician whose course
 reminds us of a skillful swimmer in the
 breakers2 half the time he rides the   
waves and half the time he is submerged1
 yet never sinks so deep but that he    
rises again to the surface4 ,when ,santa
 ,anna is in authority the fickle       
multitude cry out against him1 and when 
he is in exile no suffering innocent can
 compare with him2 and the books that at
 such times sell best in ,mexico are    
those that vindicate his past career4   
,of such a man something must be said1  

and to render that something            
intelligible1 a brief account of the    
social and political changes of his     
times must be rendered4  ,santa ,anna   
was born at ,vera ,cruz1 in the year    
#agif1 in the most prosperous era of the
 colonial government of the vice-kingdom
 of ,new ,spain1 while ,ravillagigedo   
was ,virey4 ,the new and liberal code1  
regulating mines and mining1 was        
yielding its legitimate fruits in the   
immensely increased production of silver
 and gold1 while the newly-granted      
privilege of unrestricted trade with    
,spain and her other colonies was       
followed by considerable shipments of   
grain from the table-lands of ,mexico to
 the ,west ,india ,islands4 ,the        
profound peace that had reigned         
uninterruptedly for two hundred and     
seventy-five years was still unbroken4  
,not a word of disloyalty was breathed2 
while the ,inquisition of ,mexico       
watched with the utmost care for the    
least appearance of rebellion against   

,god or the king4 ,such was the         
religious and political stagnation at   
the time ,santa ,anna was born2 and so  
it continued for the first twelve years 
of his life4 ,but his youth was not to  
be passed in a period of national       
repose4   ,,the ,,mexican ,,revolution4 
,it was the year #ahjh that the news    
arrived in ,mexico of the imprisonment  
of ,charles ,,iv4 and ,ferdinand ,,vii41
 the dotard and simpleton who then      
disputed the ,spanish throne1 and who   
had rendered themselves the laughing    
stock of all ,europe by going1 each one 
in person1 to advocate his side of a    
family quarrel before a common enemy1   
the ,french ,emperor1 by whom both had  
thus been caught like mice in a cage1   
and compelled to abdicate4 ,at this news
 a feeling of indignation ran through   
the vice-kingdom1 while all ,europe     
laughed at the strange combination of   
knave and fool exhibited in the         
characters of the two ,spanish kings4   
,the people of ,new ,spain saw in them  

only the guardians of the ,church in the
 power of the infidels1 and at once     
forgot the unnatural crimes of their two
 kings4 ,they thought only of their     
piety1 and with joy the news was carried
 throughout ,new ,spain1 that one of    
their previous kings had consecrated his
 imprisonment to embroidering a         
petticoat for the ,virgin ,mary2 and    
when this announcement was followed by  
another1 a little more apocryphal1 that 
the most holy image had1 by a nod1      
signified her acceptance of the present1
 there could no longer be a doubt of his
 title of ,most ,catholic ,king1 which  
might from that time onward be          
interpreted ,most ,catholic             
,mantua-maker4 ,the world might now     
laugh at him1 and hold him up to        
ridicule4 ,all its ridicule mattered    
nothing to the ,mexicans4 ,it made no   
difference to them4 ,to revere the king 
and render him a blind obedience was at 
all times a part of their religion4     
,whether either of the two were fit to  

be kings was not a question for the     
people to determine2 and if the ,virgin 
,mary had not nodded her approval1 the  
solution of this question of competency 
would still be reserved for the         
tribunals of ,god and the ,inquisition4 
,it was sufficient for the people to    
know that both father and son had been  
compelled to abdicate1 and that they no 
longer were kings of ,spain1 and that   
the brother of the ,french ,emperor     
occupied the vacant throne1 which the   
,inquisition had associated1 in their   
superstition1 with the throne of ,god   
itself4 ,god and the king were          
inseparable words in the mouth of a     
citizen of ,new ,spain1 and he that     
dared to separate them was thought      
worthy of ,inquisitorial fires4 ,they   
owed the same reverence which the       
,aztecs rendered to their emperor before
 the conquest4  ,next to ,god and the   
king was the vice-king4 ,yet they had   
seen their beloved viceroy1             
,iturrigaray1 deposed by a conspiracy of

 ,spanish shop-keepers1 which had       
organized itself in that focus of       
,mexican trade1 the ,parian4 ,all this  
was bewildering to the nation4 ,all ,new
 ,spain was astonished to see a power   
sufficiently potent to arrest the       
vice-king emanate from such a quarter4  
,and not only had they witnessed this1  
but they had also seen this same        
officer1 whose person was so sacred in  
their eyes1 cast into the prison of the 
,inquisition among heretics1 and        
accursed of ,god1 and despised of       
,christian men1 because he had not      
discriminated in favor of the           
,spanish-born in his appeal to the      
patriotism of the people4  ,before they 
had escaped from this bewildering of all
 their ideas of government1 they were   
suddenly called upon to take sides in a 
war of races that had sprung up in      
determining the question1 who           
constituted the people1 among the divers
 races that composed the population of  
,mexico8 ,the ,cortes of ,spain had just

 proclaimed the sovereignty of the      
people4 ,but who were the people8 ,the  
solution of this question excited one of
 the most cruel and envenomed wars on   
record4 ,the handful of whites who had  
been born in ,spain1 and who enjoyed a  
monopoly of the lucrative offices in    
,church and in ,state1 as well as a     
monopoly in trade1 claimed it as their  
exclusive privilege to be considered the
 people1 and they it was who imprisoned 
the vice-king1 because he appeared to   
have more enlarged views than           
themselves4 ,the ,creoles1 as those of  
pure white blood born in ,america are   
called1 who were excluded from all      
places of honor or profit1 held the     
balance of power1 and it was doubtful   
for a long time to which side the       
,creole soldiers would incline4 ,but    
they were not long in suspense2 for when
 fired upon by an undisciplined rabble1 
rather than an army1 of ,indians1 they  
returned the fire1 and there1 in sight  
of the city of ,mexico1 settled the     

character of a contest which was1 from  
that time forward1 to shake the whole   
social organization of the              
vice-kingdom--in which plantations were 
destroyed1 and villages and cities      
sacked and burned1 and the most         
unheard-of cruelties practiced by one   
party or the other on the defenseless1  
until the final triumph of the ,creole1 
or white troops1 in the time of the     
viceroy1 ,apaduer1 over the insurgents1 
composed chiefly of ,indians and those  
of mixed blood4   ,,rise ,,of ,,santa   
,,anna4  ,while this war was raging in  
all its fury1 ,santa ,anna arrived at an
 age to choose an occupation for life2  
and with the ardor of youth he entered  
the king's service as a ,creole officer1
 a cadet in the ,fijo de ,vera ,cruz4   
,in this fratricidal war he soon        
distinguished himself by that activity  
in the performance of the duties of a   
subaltern which1 in more mature years1  
distinguished him as a leader and a     
politician4 ,he was at that time in the 

unhappy dilemma of every man born in    
,spanish ,america2 he was compelled to  
choose between two evils--either to join
 the king's cause1 and fight for the    
,spaniards who oppressed his country1 or
 to run the hazard of seeing re-enacted 
in ,mexico the bloody tragedy of ,san   
,domingo1 if the colored races should   
conquer in a contest with the           
,spaniards4 ,a few ,creoles had chosen  
the side of the insurgents2 but they    
were few2 as the ,spanish cause could   
not have been sustained for a day1 if it
 had not been for the want of confidence
 in the leaders of the insurrection4    
,but it was not in contests with his own
 countrymen that ,santa ,anna first won 
distinction2 it was in a battle with the
 filibustering invaders while yet       
,mexico was a colony of ,spain3 it was  
in the bloody battle of the river       
,madina1 in ,texas1 where an army of    
three thousand men 7according to        
,mexican accounts71 on their way to join
 the ,mexican insurgents1 were totally  

routed by ,aridondo4  ,the zeal which   
,santa ,anna continually exhibited in   
almost daily contests with guerillas    
outside of the walls of ,vera ,cruz1 so 
long as the contest was confined to a   
war of races1 soon won him distinction4 
,but now he is called to play the part  
of a military politician2 for when the  
news arrived in ,mexico of the new      
constitutional revolution of #ahbj in   
,spain itself1 all the higher classes of
 society in the vice-kingdom were in    
terror4 ,ten years of bloodshed and     
civil disorder had been the fruits to   
,mexico of the first revolution of      
,spain--an insurrection that had not    
been effectually put down until ,spain  
herself had returned to despotism1 and  
now the newly-restored peace was        
threatened with a more bloody           
insurrection than the former1 unless    
there was an entire separation of the   
two countries4 ,experience had fully    
demonstrated that the ,spanish colonial 
system was compatible only with ,spanish

 despotism4 ,all native-born races      
desired to be free from the political   
disorders consequent upon the military  
revolutions of ,spain herself4 ,in this 
desire they were joined by that class   
who then ruled over the consciences of  
all men in ,mexico1 the clergy2 for that
 powerful body preferred to sacrifice   
the allegiance they owed to the king1   
from whom they had received their       
preferments1 rather than run the risk of
 losing their privileges4   ,,the ,,plan
 ,,of ,,iguala4  ,that which was the    
thought of all ,mexicans capable of     
thinking1 was not long in receiving a   
definite shape and form4 ,the           
pronunciamiento of ,colonel ,iturbide1  
at the city of ,iguala1 on the #bdth of 
,february #ahba1 united all the         
conflicting elements of ,mexican        
society2 for all could agree upon a plan
 that proposed a separation from ,spain1
 while it gave guarantees to property1  
to the army1 and to the church4 ,men who
 had been educated under the fatherly   

care of the ,inquisition1 had no idea of
 religious toleration2 toleration for   
heresy was no part of their creed2 nor  
had their long civil wars produced that 
alienation from the priesthood which had
 arisen from this cause in the other    
,spanish ,american states4 ,one reason  
for this was that the first insurrection
 was headed by the parish priest1       
,hidalgo2 and because the most prominent
 leaders in it were priests2 while the  
watchword of the insurgents was1 ,viva  
,our ,lady of ,guadalupe6 who is the    
patron saint of the colored races of    
,mexico4 ,the insurrection of ,iguala   
was entirely distinct in its character  
from the popular insurrection of #ahaj2 
for that was an insurrection of the     
oppressed races against the despotism   
that was grinding them in the dust4 ,it 
was a peasant war2 but the cry of       
,iguala rose from the soldiers of the   
government4 ,it was the first of that   
long list of military insurrections that
 have afflicted ,mexico4 ,it was an     

insurrection of the ,creole supporters  
of the government1 and rendered the     
government powerless at once4 ,colonel  
,iturbide had distinguished himself1 as 
a ,creole soldier1 by his courage1 and  
by the cruelty which he exercised toward
 the first insurgents4  ,when an officer
 in the service of the king in the first
 insurrection obtained a victory1 he    
went to make his offering1 not at the   
shrine of the ,virgin of ,guadalupe1 but
 at the shrine of the ,virgin of        
,remedies1 so that as long as the       
,spanish cause prospered1 the shrine of 
,guadalupe remained in obscurity2 but as
 soon1 however1 as ,iturbide and the    
,creoles deserted the cause of the king 
and joined the national standard1 the   
,lady of ,guadalupe was made the        
national patroness1 and the order of    
,guadalupe was established as the first 
and only order of the empire1 while ,our
 ,lady of ,remedies sank into obscurity4
 ,this gave occasion to an unbelieving  
,mexican to remark that the revolution  

was a war between the ,blessed ,virgins1
 and that she of ,guadalupe had         
triumphed over her that had taken       
shelter in the plant4  ,as soon as the  
tidings of the plan of ,iguala reached  
,vera ,cruz1 ,santa ,anna hastened to   
give in his adhesion to the cause now   
truly national1 which guaranteed equal  
rights to all under the united          
leadership of ,iturbide and of ,general 
,guerrero1 the only remaining ,creole   
leader of the first insurrection still  
in arms4 ,on the #ahth day of ,march1   
#ahba1 he was the first to proclaim the 
plan of ,iguala in the ,plaza of ,vera  
,cruz4 ,this promptness of ,santa ,anna 
in proclaiming the independence         
determined many who were hesitating in  
dread of a bombardment from ,spanish    
forces in the ,castle of ,san ,juan de  
,ulua2 and this important step it was   
which first brought him prominently into
 notice4 ,as a consequence of this      
political movement1 ,santa ,anna was    
appointed second in command in ,vera    

,cruz4     ,,chapter ,,iii4  ,incidents 
of ,travel4--,the ,great ,road to the   
,interior4--,mexican ,diligences4--,the 
,priest was the first ,passenger        
robbed4--,the ,national ,bridge4--,a    
,conducta of ,silver4--,our ,monk visits
 ,old ,vera ,cruz4--,they grant to the  
,indians ,forty ,years of ,indulgence in
 return for their ,hospitality4--,the   
,artist among ,robbers4--,mexican       
,scholars in the ,united                
,states4--,encerro4   ,a railroad eleven
 miles in length1 crossing the morass1  
connects ,vera ,cruz with the great     
,national ,road to the table-land of the
 interior4 ,the coach in which the      
journey to ,mexico is made is placed on 
a railroad track and pushed on before a 
crazy locomotive1 while behind the      
engine is a long line of freight wagons4
 ,at every cow-path that crossed our    
track stood a flagman waving his little 
red flag to the train as it passed1     
apparently in burlesque imitation of a  
regular road4   ,,the ,,national        

,,bridge4  ,the famous ,national ,bridge
 carries the ,national ,road over the   
river ,antigua1 at the mouth of which1 a
 little way below1 ,cortez built his    
,vera ,cruz 7,villa ,rica de ,vera      
,cruz71 and where he caused his vessels 
to be sunk before commencing his        
expedition to the interior4 ,little has 
ever been known in our country of that  
magnificent whole1 of which this and    
other bridges of solid masonry are but  
parts4 ,the ,national ,road of ,mexico  
was conceived and executed by a company 
of merchants known as the ,consulado of 
,vera ,cruz4 ,it is about ninety miles  
in length1 and cost #c1jjj1jjj4 ,from   
,vera ,cruz it runs northward1 often    
within sight of the ,gulf1 till it      
nearly reaches the ,cerro ,gordo1 where 
it turns inland1 and passing upward     
through that celebrated gorge to        
,jalapa1 a distance of sixty miles from 
,vera ,cruz1 and at an elevation of     
#dbfd feet above the sea2 thence1 for   
the remaining thirty miles1 it is       

carried over the famous mountain1       
,perote1 to the great table-land of     
,mexico4 ,it is a work of extraordinary 
character for the period in which it was
 built1 and the method of its           
construction2 and reminds the traveler  
of a ,roman road of antiquity1 though no
 ,roman road ever passed over a mountain
 #aj1jjj feet in height4 ,the ruin into 
which it has fallen in many places      
during the last thirty years of civil   
war1 serves to keep up the illusion1    
though it falls far short of those      
ancient roads in the material of which  
it is constructed1 being of small rough 
stones1 covered over with a durable     
cement4  ,illustration3 ,,the ,,national
 ,,bridge4  ,the system of stage-coaches
 between ,vera ,cruz and ,mexico is as  
nearly perfect as any system of         
traveling dependent on weather can be4  
,comfortable hotels are established at  
convenient distances along the road2 and
 if the passenger desires it1 he can    
have endorsed upon his ticket a         

permission to tarry upon the road as    
long as he may desire4 ,six1 and        
sometimes eight horses drag the coach   
along at a hazardous speed4 ,twice1 out 
of three times that ,i have passed over 
this road1 ,i have been overturned4     
,once1 while riding on the top1 a heavy 
iron axle broke like a pipe-stem1       
throwing me off upon the rough stones1  
with the additional misfortune of having
 a heavy ,frenchman fall upon me4 ,but  
no bones were broken1 and ,i still live 
to tell the story4  ,the neighborhood of
 the ,national ,bridge is a favorite    
haunt of the knights of the road4       
,though very pious in their way1 they   
have no scruples in relieving any priest
 who may fall into their hands of such  
worldly possessions as he happens to    
have about him4 ,in fact1 they seem to  
take a special delight in plundering    
these holy men1 giving them the         
precedence in relieving their wants4    
,out of respect to the cloth1 they omit 
the ceremony of searching1 to which the 

other passengers are subjected2 nor do  
they compel him to lie down like the    
others4 ,but with mock solemnity a      
robber approaches the sacred personage1 
and dropping on one knee1 presents his  
hat for alms1 which the priest          
understands to be a reverential mode of 
demanding all the valuables that he     
carries about him3 his reverence having 
been disposed of1 the women are         
searched2 afterward the men1 one by one1
 are ordered to rise up to undergo a    
like ceremony2 and1 lastly1 the baggage 
is ransacked1 and then all are suffered 
to go on their way in peace1 if no shots
 have been fired from the stage4 ,in    
former times the robbers used to divide 
their plunder with the ,virgin ,mary1   
but now things are altered2 the robber  
takes all1 and even visits the churches 
occasionally1 not to worship1 but for   
plunder4 ,if two or three priests take  
passage in a single coach1 people shake 
their heads and say1 ,that coach will   
certainly be robbed2 and so it often    

happens4  ,the stage ordinarily passes  
this bridge in the night1 when there is 
no opportunity to look at the           
magnificent scenery around4 ,i saw it   
once by daylight2 and long shall ,i     
remember the impression produced4 ,i    
lingered about the spot to the last     
moment that ,jim1 or as he is here      
called ,san ,diego1 the driver1 would   
permit4 ,we reluctantly took our places 
in the coach1 and when the hostler let  
slip the rope that held the heads of the
 leaders1 our eight wild horses dashed  
off at a furious rate over a roughly    
paved road1 to the no small disturbance 
of the reflections which such a spot    
awakens4  ,we tried to think of the     
stirring events that had here so often  
taken place in times of civil war1 when 
,gomez practiced such cruelties in the  
name of liberty2 when robberies and     
murders were committed here in broad    
daylight2 when the frowning battery that
 crowns the cliff1 stopped the passage  
of armies4 ,but it was of no use to try 

to think2 the wheels would strike fire  
upon the boulders lying in the road1    
tumbling us about until all romance and 
recollection were pounded out of us4    
,gladly we halted at ,plan del ,rio to  
take a little chocolate and look at the 
ruins of a stone bridge blown up by     
gunpowder1 while new horses were being  
brought out to drag us up the ,cerro    
,gordo pass4  ,here we met a small body 
of soldiers conducting eight freight    
wagons that carried loads of coined     
silver1 and were drawn by twelve horses 
each1 on their way to the coast--a      
common sight to the people of these     
parts1 as was evident from the          
indifference with which they regarded   
such cargoes of money2 yet it was       
calculated to make an ,american stare1  
though he had been accustomed to look   
upon treasures of ,california in her    
palmiest days4 ,but a few millions in   
silver make a most imposing show4       
,,friar ,,page ,,at ,,vera ,,cruz4  ,our
 monk1 on his journey to this point1 had

 kept along the shore1 crossing the     
,antigua near its mouth1 visiting old   
,vera ,cruz4 ,he thus describes what he 
there saw3  ,the first ,indians whom we 
encountered in our journey were at old  
,vera ,cruz1 which is on the sea-shore1 
where1 as we have already said1 the     
,spaniards first designed to establish  
themselves on undertaking the conquest  
of the country1 but which they had to   
abandon on account of the little        
protection it afforded against the north
 winds4 ,here we began to note the power
 which the clergy and friars have among 
the poor ,indians2 how they rule them1  
and the respect and veneration which are
 paid them4 ,the ,prior of ,vera ,cruz  
having written1 the morning of our      
departure1 advertising them of the day  
of our arrival1 he commanded them to    
come and receive us1 and to serve us    
during our transit through their        
territory4 ,the poor ,indians obeyed    
with the greatest promptitude the orders
 of the ,prior1 and at a league from    

their village twenty of their principal 
men encountered us upon horseback1 and  
handed a wreath of flowers to each one  
of us4 ,then they set out on their      
return in front of our caravan1 and at a
 bow-shot distance1 and in this manner  
we proceeded until we came up with      
others on foot1 with trumpets and       
flutes1 which were played very agreeably
 before our whole cavalcade4 ,those who 
had come out were the employees of the  
churches and the chiefs of the          
fraternities1 all of whom presented us a
 garland of flowers4 ,then followed     
others--the priests' assistants1        
acolitos1 and the young people of the   
choir1 who went singing a ,te ,deum     
laudamus1 until we arrived at the       
market-place4 ,there is always a ,plaza 
in the midst of the village1 and here it
 was adorned by two great and most      
beautiful elms3 between these there had 
been constructed an immense arbor1 in   
which was a table covered with jars and 
dishes of conserves1 and other kinds of 

sweetmeats and biscuits for eating with 
the chocolate4 ,while they were         
preparing the chocolate1 heating the    
water1 and adding the sugar1 the        
principal ,indians and the authorities  
of the village came and knelt down1 and 
kissed our hands1 and gave us their     
address1 saying that our arrival was a  
happy event for their country1 and that 
they gave us a thousand thanks because  
we had left our native country1 our     
parents1 and our firesides1 in order to 
go to regions so remote to labor for the
 salvation of souls2 and that they      
honored us as gods upon earth1 and as   
the apostles or ,jesus ,christ2 and they
 said so many1 many things1 that only   
the chocolate put an end to their       
eloquence4 ,we remained an hour1 and    
manifested our gratification for the    
demonstration of affection and bounty   
with which they had favored us1 assuring
 them that there was not any thing in   
the world more dear to us than their    
salvation1 and that to procure it we had

 not feared to expose ourselves to all  
the perils with which we were threatened
 by sea and land2 nor even the barbarous
 cruelty of other ,indians who did not  
know the true ,god1 in whose service we 
had resolved to sacrifice even life4    
,with this we departed from them1 making
 gifts to the chiefs of rosaries1       
medals1 little metal crosses1 'the ,lamb
 of ,god' 7,agnus ,dei71 relics which we
 brought from ,spain2 and we conceded to
 each one forty years of indulgence1 in 
virtue of the powers which we had       
received from the ,pope for distributing
 them1 where1 when1 and to whom we      
pleased4 ,on our going out from the     
shade of the arbor for mounting our     
mules1 we saw the market-place full of  
men and women on their knees1 almost    
adoring us1 and asking us to give them  
our blessing4 ,we raised the hand on    
passing1 and gave it to them by making  
the sign of the cross4 ,the submission  
of the poor ,indians1 and the vanity    
excited by a reception so ceremonious1  

and with such public homage1 turned the 
heads of our young friars1 who began to 
believe themselves superior to the      
bishops of ,europe2 and even our        
illustrious superiors were not far from 
pride1 but exhibited excessive          
haughtiness1 now that they had seen     
their vanity flattered with such great  
acclamations in their sight as were     
lavished upon us that day1 although we  
were only some simple friars4 ,the      
flutes and the trumpets began to resound
 again at the head of our procession1   
and the chiefs of the people accompanied
 us as far as half a league1 and        
afterward they retired to their homes4  
,slowly has the stage been moving up the
 pass4 ,the rattle of the wheels has    
ceased1 the sun has made his appearance1
 and the awakened passengers are        
disposed to listen to tales of wild     
adventures4 ,the loquacious are ready   
with an abundant supply4 ,the best of   
these is the tale of ,the ,artist among 
the ,robbers4   ,,the ,,artist ,,among  

,,the ,,robbers4  ,four years ago1 began
 the artist who made some sketches for  
this work1 while ,i was making a        
pedestrian journey over this road1 ,i   
seated myself1 weak and hungry1 upon a  
stone by the roadside1 not a little     
tired of life and evil fortune4 ,the    
remains of the yellow fever were still  
upon me1 and only a single dollar       
burdened my pocket2 for ,i did not      
learn1 until too late1 how poor a place 
for an artist from abroad is this       
country1 where the ,san ,carlos is      
creating the native article by scores4  
,i had not sat long in my gloomy mood   
before ,i had company enough2 for as ,i 
looked up ,i saw1 trooping down the side
 of the hill1 a band of men1 who ,i     
thought would soon put an end to my     
troubles4 ,i took the thing coolly1 for 
,i cared little for the result2 and had 
,i cared1 there was no helping it now4  
,so ,i patiently waited their arrival4  
,to the questions of the only one who   
could talk ,english ,i answered briefly1

 as ,i supposed they would soon end my  
troubles4 ,when ,i told him that ,i     
cared little if he did kill me1 the     
whole party laughed uproariously4 ,the  
leader now came up1 and having searched 
me1 found my story to be true4 ,i then  
drew an outline of a picture with my    
pencil1 and gave it to him4 ,this so    
pleased him that he wrote me a          
memorandum1 and with verbal directions  
as to the way ,i was to go if ,i wished 
for lodgings for the night1 he bade me  
adieu1 and the party disappeared up the 
side of the woody hill1 and ,i set out  
on my journey4  ,the leagues were very  
long1 but the landmarks were            
unmistakable2 and without difficulty the
 artist reached the house and presented 
his paper to the old woman that appeared
 at the door4 ,this paper procured him a
 good supper1 and comfortable quarters  
for the night2 for his fine open        
countenance and yellow hair seemed to   
have touched the heart of this old      
,mexican matron--a class of persons1    

by-the-way1 who are the kindest mortals 
in the world4 ,the good cheer disposed  
of1 he gathered up his feet upon his mat
 for the night1 and slept as men do who 
have nothing to fear from robbers4 ,when
 in the morning he awoke1 he found the  
old dame astir1 preparing for him an    
early breakfast1 which was of a quality 
unexpected in so unpretending a mansion4
 ,when breakfast was prepared1 and after
 he had finished eating it1 the old     
woman made him understand by signs that 
he was to go into the adjoining room and
 there replenish his dilapidated        
wardrobe4 ,she supplied him with a new  
suit from head to heel1 and then urged  
him to tie around his waist a small     
sheep's entrail filled with brandy1     
according to the custom of ,mexican     
,indians4 ,thus had our transient friend
 had his inner and outer man supplied in
 this out-of-the-way hut1 at the        
robbers' charges1 after which1 being    
shown the direction in which to reach   
the ,jalapa road1 he bade the kind old  

matron adios1 and traveled on to        
,encerro with a lighter heart than he   
had borne the day before4   ,,encerro4  
,at ,encerro we left four of our        
fellow-passengers4 ,they were the son   
and three daughters of the widow who    
kept the inn4 ,they had been through a  
full course of studies in one of the    
,roman ,catholic boarding-schools in the
 ,united ,states1 and were now returned1
 having fully mastered the ,english     
language--the great desideratum of the  
,spanish-,american people1 and one of   
the sources from which the ,catholic    
schools and colleges in the ,united     
,states derive their support4  ,what a  
beautiful spot is ,encerro1 the country 
residence of ,santa ,anna6 ,it may not  
be as productive as his estate of ,manga
 de ,clavo1 in the hot country1 near    
,vera ,cruz2 but it is more salubrious  
and delightful4 ,in the civil wars he   
had often made a stand here1 and had    
learned to appreciate the beauty of the 
spot long before he was rich enough to  

make the purchase--for the pay received 
by officers of the highest rank in      
,mexico1 is not sufficient to enable    
them to accumulate a fortune till far   
advanced in life4 ,politicians in       
,mexico1 as in all other countries1 are 
not unwilling to hazard their private   
fortunes in their political contests1   
and though the estates of the           
unsuccessful parties are not confiscated
 in a revolution1 one reason may be that
 they are not ordinarily of great value4
  ,the stage-coach has been forgotten in
 story-telling while slowly climbing up 
the pass1 but as soon as we had overcome
 this impediment we started off again   
upon an unrepaired road1 at our former  
neck-breaking speed1 which we kept up   
until we reached ,encerro1 where for a  
little way we had an earthen road4 ,yet 
it was only a short breathing before we 
were upon the rough stones again4 ,we   
had been gradually passing through      
different strata of atmosphere in our   
journey upward1 the changes in the      

character of the vegetation kept pace   
with the change of the climate4  ,whose 
is that estate inclosed by such an      
antiquated looking stone wall8 ,i       
inquired1 of a fellow-traveler4  ,that  
belongs to ,don ,isidoro2 and it extends
 some thirty leagues1 was the reply4    
,you see that ridge of hills4 ,that is  
its northern boundary4 ,this wall       
separates it from the estate of ,santa  
,anna4 ,in fact it is surrounded by a   
continuous and substantial stone-wall1  
sufficient to keep in cattle4 ,this spot
 of land sufficiently large for a       
county1 with a soil the richest in the  
world1 and a climate like that of       
,jalapa1 is given up to be a range for  
thousands of cattle4   ,a ,,tropical    
,,forest4  ,we must hasten to our       
journey's end1 which1 for the present1  
is ,jalapa4 ,while here1 we can sum up  
the story of our eighteen hours' ride4  
,from ,vera ,cruz we passed through a   
tropical marsh1 presenting a striking   
contrast to what we had witnessed about 

that town4 ,in place of being surrounded
 by hot1 shifting hillocks of sand1 we  
were in the midst of tropical           
vegetation4 ,trees not only bore their  
own natural burdens1 but were borne down
 with creepers1 vines1 and parasitic    
plants2 forming one strange mass of     
foliage of very many distinct kinds     
matted together and mingled into one4   
,plantations of vanilla1 of coffee1 of  
cocoa1 or of sugar-cane1 nowhere        
approached our road2 nor were the       
cocoa-nut1 the banana1 and the plantain1
 so familiar in all tropical climates1  
often visible4 ,upon the whole route    
there were little evidences of labor1   
except those furnished by the road      
itself4 ,it was all wilderness4 ,yet the
 graceful features of the creepers1     
hanging from branch to branch of the    
sycamores1 and the shady arbors formed  
by their dense foliage1 looked as though
 a gardener's hand could be traced in so
 much regularity2 yet it was only       
,nature's own gardening1 where the wild 

birds might build their nests1 and      
breed1 and sing without fear of         
disturbance4 ,how often have ,i         
dismounted1 while riding along such a   
forest1 by the side of some running     
brook1 and while my horse was feeding ,i
 have almost fallen asleep under the    
soothing influence which such an        
atmosphere produces upon a traveler1    
heated by fast riding under a vertical  
sun4 ,it is one of those happy          
sensations that can not well be         
described1 nor can it be appreciated by 
those who have not experienced it4      
,poets have exhausted their power in    
painting the beauties of scenes where   
all the senses are satiated with        
enjoyment4 ,yet this voluptuous         
gratification is soon alloyed by the    
evils that remind us that ,paradise is  
not to be found upon this earth4 ,here  
is seen the whole animal kingdom busily 
laboring for the destruction of its     
kind4 ,reptiles prey upon each other2   
parasitic plants fix themselves upon    

trees and suck up the sap of their      
existence2 and man1 while he enjoys to a
 surfeit these bounties of nature1 must 
watch narrowly against the venom and the
 poison that comes to mar his pleasure1 
and teach him the wholesome lesson that 
true happiness is only found in ,heaven4
 ,we are now at our journey's end4      
,,chapter ,,iv4  ,jalapa4--,the         
extraordinary ,beauty and ,fertility of 
this ,spot4--,jalap1 ,sarsaparilla1     
,myrtle1 ,vanilla1 ,cochineal1 and ,wood
 of ,tobasco4--,the charming ,situation 
of ,jalapa4--,its ,flowers and its      
,fruits4--,magnificent ,views4--,the    
tradition that ,jalapa was              
,paradise4--,a speck of ,war4--,the     
,marriage of a ,heretic4--,a gambling   
,scene in a ,convent4   ,byron's lines1 
in the opening of ,the ,bride of ,abydos
 are gorgeous enough3      ,know ye the 
land of the cedar and vine1     ,where  
the flowers ever blossom1 the beams ever
 shine2     ,where the light wings of   
,zephyr1 oppress'd with perfume1        

,wax faint o'er the gardens of ,gull in 
their bloom2     ,where the citron and  
olive are fairest of fruit1     ,and the
 voice of the nightingale never is mute4
  ,but the poet would have given them a 
still more luxuriant coloring had he    
ever ascended the table-land of the     
tropics1 and visited ,jalapa1 the spot  
which the natives insist was the site of
 the original ,paradise4 ,paradise1     
jalapa1 and myrtle1 sound well enough   
together1 and do not clash with the     
native tradition in relation to this    
delightful spot4   ,,productions ,,of   
,,the ,,valleys4  ,we were now more than
 four thousand feet above the sea1 on an
 extensive plateau1 half-way up the     
mountain4 ,the beautiful convolvulus    
jalapa does not flourish here1 but is   
brought from the ,indian villages of    
,colipa and ,maqautla1 situated in the  
valleys that run among the hills4 ,the  
myrtle1 whose grain is the spice of     
,tobasco1 is produced in the forests by 
the river ,boriderus2 the smilax1 whose 

root is the true sarsaparilla1 grows    
deep down in the humid and umbrageous   
ravines of the ,cordilleras2 and cocoa  
comes from ,acayucan4 ,from the         
ever-green forests of ,papantla and     
,nautla comes the epidendrum vanilla1   
whose odoriferous fruit is used as a    
perfume4 ,thus these characteristic     
productions of the country come from the
 mysterious valleys of the neighboring  
mountain1 where1 nearly a thousand years
 before any of the present generation   
was born1 flourished an unknown race of 
men as civilized as were the people of  
,palmyra or of ,egypt1 as vast ruins in 
the forests of ,misantla and ,papantla  
clearly indicate3 a race unknown to the 
degenerate ,indians1 who now wander     
about the ruined edifices and isolated  
pyramids of these cities1 lost in the   
forest1 as they are to us4 ,a thousand  
years have passed away--their history   
has perished forever4 ,the old books say
 that the delicate little scarlet       
insect1 cochineal1 was once a product of

 this district1 and ,jalapa was its     
proper market1 and the mart of all the  
other peculiar productions of the       
neighboring region1 because it was the  
town on the high land nearest to the    
sea-port4  ,illustration3 ,,jalapa4     
,jalapa early became an important       
position to which foreign goods were    
brought to be exchanged for silver and  
gold1 jalap1 sarsaparilla1 vanilla1     
spice of ,tobasco1 cocoa1 cochineal1 and
 woods of various colors4  ,it is the   
beauty of the place itself1 and the     
unsurpassed magnificence of its         
mountain-scenery1 that throws such a    
charm around ,jalapa4 ,the transparency 
of its atmosphere makes the snow-crowned
 ,orizaba and ,perote1 in the coast     
range of mountains1 appear close at     
hand1 with their dense forests of       
perpetual foliage1 moistened incessantly
 by the clouds driven upon them from the
 ocean4 ,high up in the region of       
perpetual moisture1 ,jalapa has a soil  
intensely luxuriant1 and is beyond the  

reach of those parasitic plants of the  
low lands1 that fix themselves upon     
other plants and trees1 and eat out     
their very life1 as the malarias do that
 of the human being4 ,roses of the most 
choice varieties grow spontaneously by  
the roadside1 or creep over the walls4  
,nature1 the parent of architects1 has  
here shaped all her trees upon the most 
exquisite models4 ,the very twig planted
 in a hedge1 if left to itself1 grows up
 into a tree which gracefully inclines  
its head like a weeping willow2 while a 
mammoth white bell1 or trumpet flower1  
hangs pendent from the extremity of     
every limb1 each flower larger and more 
beautiful than our favorite house lily1 
and giving forth a richer odor than the 
rose4 ,from the exquisite delicacy and  
richness of the fruit which this plant  
7the chirimoya7 bears1 and the danger   
arising from eating of it too freely1 it
 is not unfrequently called the tree of 
the forbidden fruit2 sometimes also it  
is called the custard plant4   ,,the    

,,paradise ,,of ,,jalapa4  ,among the   
pleasing sights which we beheld was an  
orange orchard1 in which ,i did not see 
a single tree that was not delicately   
and gracefully formed4 ,in this         
profusion of nature ,i saw our own      
favorite flowers4 ,a tiny crimson rose  
was creeping about in every place1 while
 the large pink rose1 which grew so     
rank1 was clinging to an old wall and in
 full blossom2 and many other varieties 
of crimson1 white1 yellow1 and scarlet  
roses grow here without care2 the       
morning-glory and honey-suckle are wild 
flowers here2 the sweet-william1 the    
lady-slipper1 and all the flowers that  
we cultivate in summer1 appear here to  
be spontaneous productions of nature4   
,even that sweetest and most beautiful  
of flowers1 the passion-flower1 with its
 mystical cross and five protruding     
seeds1 was running over a frame1 and    
yielding a profusion of blossoms1 and a 
fruit--the granada--which almost equals 
in richness and delicacy the fruit of   

the chirimoya4 ,but all the natural     
wonders of this town are not yet        
enumerated2 for the fruits as well as   
the flowers of every climate flourish in
 ,jalapa4 ,there are strawberries1 of   
the largest size1 growing beside a      
coffee-tree the tree being filled with  
coffee-berries4 ,peach-trees were in    
full blossom in ,november1 beside       
apricots and chirimoyas1 while potatoes 
flourish among the bulbous productions  
of a tropical climate4 ,the people of   
the town take a pride in its natural    
beauty2 and there are no filthy alleys1 
no squalid poverty1 or uncleanly hovels4
 ,every house appears to be of stone2   
the walls neatly whitewashed1 and       
bordered with pink1 red1 blue1 green1 or
 yellow2 and the streets are fashioned  
to suit the grounds1 without regard to  
checker-board regularity4  ,i stood in  
an upper story of the house of a ,mr4   
,todd1 on the opposite side of the      
little stream that runs in front of the 
town1 and looked out from that favored  

position4 ,the sun had just escaped from
 the folds of an imprisoning cloud1 and 
was shining full upon the beautiful town
 and hill4 ,the unabsorbed moisture on  
the leaves gave them an additional      
lustre4 ,the green peering up every     
where amidst the whitened walls2 the    
graceful form of the trees1 where their 
outline could be traced2 the curiously  
shaped roofs of the old stone churches1 
with buttresses and towers2 the college 
of ,san ,francisco1 a curiously         
fashioned pile of buildings1 standing   
out above all others2 the hill behind   
the town1 the lofty mountain of ,perote1
 on its left flank1 on whose top the sky
 seemed to rest--all combined to give   
credibility to that which has been said 
of the beauty of ,jalapa by an old      
,spanish author--that ,jalapa was a     
piece of heaven let down to earth4 ,this
 figure was afterward applied to        
,naples1 and the remark was added--,see 
,naples1 and die4 ,but the ,jalapanos   
say1 ,see ,jalapa1 and pray for         

immortality1 that you may enjoy it      
forever4 ,it is the boast of the        
,indian1 that ,jalapa is ,paradise4     
,one is almost tempted to agree with    
them2 for here grow all plants that are 
pleasant to the eye1 or good for food4  
,adam and ,eve were not placed in the   
garden to plant and to sow1 but to prune
 and dress the plants that grew of      
themselves4 ,here grow an abundance of  
broad-leaved plants1 and for thread     
there is the fibre of the maguey1 or    
century plant2 while the thorns of the  
cactus are the needles used among the   
natives2 so that all the materials were 
at ready hand for making their garments1
 as soon as our first parents had their 
eyes opened--by taking ,jalap1 ,i       
suppose--and so discovering that they   
were naked4 ,it is a curious conceit1   
that the sin of ,adam1 in introducing a 
parasite into ,eden1 entailed a curse on
 this medicinal plant1 which from that  
day1 the story goes1 has for very shame 
hid its face by day1 and only by night  

opened its pretty scarlet flowers1 which
 close again as the morning light       
appears4  ,in favor of the notion that  
,jalapa was the ancient ,paradise1 the  
argument is1 that ,paradise must have   
been in the tropics1 in a region        
elevated far above the baleful heat and 
malaria of the low lands1 in a climate  
where plants could grow to the utmost   
perfection4 ,and there is no such place 
in the world except ,jalapa4 ,here1 too1
 when the daily shower1 which is        
requisite to bring all vegetable nature 
to perfection1 rendered garments of wool
 necessary to protect humanity from     
rheumatism1 nature had provided the     
needles and thread needed to fashion    
them4 ,so that1 taken all together1 this
 ,indian theory is more probable than   
many of the unnumbered traditions of    
this country1 where traditions and      
miracles appear to grow as spontaneously
 as wild flowers4  ,in such a spot as   
this1 where all the powers of nature    
seem to have combined to form an earthly

 ,paradise1 and where the surrounding   
mountain-scenery is unsurpassed on the  
earth's surface1 we might look for      
enlarged notions of the power1 the      
majesty1 and wisdom of that ,god who    
created it all4 ,but images1 like dolls1
 tricked out in the tawdry finery1 are  
the objects which this people adore1 and
 to whom they attribute more miraculous 
powers than were ever ascribed to the   
gods of their heathen ancestors4        
,humboldt says1 ,this people have       
changed their ceremonies1 but not their 
religious dogmas4#f   ,a ,,revolution4  
,but let us take a look at the interior 
of this town4 ,it is a little disturbed 
now1 as there was a revolution          
yesterday--a revolution and a           
counter-revolution in fact1 all in one  
day4  ,the ,governor and ,legislature of
 the ,state of ,vera ,cruz1 which meets 
in this place1 were taken prisoners in  
the forenoon1 for imposing a tax upon   
the retail trade2 but in the afternoon  
their friends rallied1 and the ,governor

 and ,legislature were released1 and the
 rebels driven from the town4 ,in this  
double battle one man1 at least1 lost   
his life1 for the funeral took place as 
we entered4 ,war is a terrible calamity 
at any time2 but when it is carried to  
that foolish extent of shedding blood1  
it becomes an intolerable evil1 and     
prudent men show their wisdom by running
 from it3 at least they did so at       
,jalapa4  ,jalapa1 it may be here       
remarked1 is built on the site of an old
 ,indian village1 which was one of the  
first to enter into alliance with       
,cortez4 ,for the benefit of the        
original inhabitants1 that ,franciscan  
,convent was built by the conqueror4 ,it
 is now converted into a college4 ,its  
steeple is worth a visit1 and well      
rewards the labor of climbing2 for from 
it another view1 even more splendid than
 that ,i have described1 is to be       
obtained4 ,from this point the          
snow-covered ,orizaba is added to the   
already imposing prospect2 both it and  

,perote1 with the intervening mountain  
and valleys1 can all be embraced at a   
single glance4 ,the position of the     
valleys1 which produce the different    
plants that have been enumerated1 are   
here pointed out2 and from this spot1   
they show the place where the mountain  
has been pierced in search of the       
precious metals1 while a little way off 
is the road to the extensive            
copper-mines4   ,,the ,,heretic ,,and   
,,the ,,jalapina4  ,there is a curious  
story about the first marriage that took
 place between a heretic and a          
,jalapina4 ,the hero held the important 
position of agent of the ,english ,real 
del ,monte ,company at ,jalapa4 ,in one 
of the families that had been greatly   
reduced in their worldly circumstances  
by the ruin of the ,consulado of ,vera  
,cruz1 was a dark beauty with whom he   
became deeply enamored4 ,but how to make
 her his wife was the difficulty4 ,the  
lady was willing--was more than willing2
 for when the fires of ,spanish love are

 kindled1 they burn unextinguishably1   
says the proverb4 ,or1 in the poetical  
language of the ,indians1 it burns as   
did the fires of ,mount ,orizaba in its 
youth--fires that only went out when its
 head was coated with silver gray4 ,the 
mother was willing2 and no one but the  
,church had aught to say why they should
 not be united4 ,how could the holy     
sacrament of matrimony be profaned by   
administering it to a heretic8 ,it never
 had been1 it never must be1 in the     
,republic4 ,he might take the woman if  
he chose1 and live with her2 but to     
marry them would be a sin4 ,so said the 
,padre of the parish1 and so said every 
dignitary of the ,church up to the      
,bishop of ,puebla1 then the only       
remaining bishop in the ,republic4 ,the 
intercession of political authorities   
was invoked4 ,the matter became serious1
 and a council was held at ,puebla to   
dispose of the case4 ,from this holy    
council came the intimation to the lover
 that a bribe of #bjjj might be of      

service4 ,but ,john ,bull by this time  
had become stubborn4 ,he had spent money
 enough2 he would spend no more2 he     
would get a chaplain from a man-of-war  
then at ,vera ,cruz2 or better still1 he
 would take his intended bride to ,new  
,orleans2 for he would be married and   
not mated1 as is the case of those who  
can not raise the fee claimed by the    
priest4 ,he would not be ranked with    
that poverty-stricken set that are      
unmarried1 or1 as the phrase is1 are    
married behind the ,church4 ,he was no  
peon4 ,it was contrary to an            
,englishman's ideas to have a wife      
unmarried2 and as no ,english chaplain  
came along1 he wrote to the ,roman      
,catholic ,bishop of ,new ,orleans1     
giving an account of his difficulties1  
and inquired if he would marry him under
 the circumstances4 ,with a liberality  
that ever distinguishes ,catholic       
functionaries in ,protestant countries1 
he promptly replied that he would marry 
them personally1 if the parties would   

come to ,new ,orleans1 or1 if he should 
chance to be unavoidably engaged1 then  
his chaplain should perform the         
ceremony4 ,whereupon our hero and his   
lady-love started for ,new ,orleans2 and
 being there united in holy matrimony by
 the bishop1 spent the happy month1 so  
long deferred1 in festivities1 and then 
returned home1 supposing that their     
troubles were now all at an end4  ,but  
this foreign marriage proved to be only 
the beginning of evil to them4 ,they had
 committed an unpardonable sin2 they had
 defrauded the priest of his fee1 and   
had set a bad example1 which others     
might follow for the very economy of the
 thing4  ,hardly had our newly-wedded   
pair found themselves located in their  
own house1 and finished receiving the   
usual round of congratulations1 when the
 wife was summoned to appear before the 
priest4 ,she at once complied1          
accompanied by her husband4 ,the priest 
inquired why the husband came1 as he had
 not been sent for2 he had only sent for

 the wife4 ,the husband gave him an     
,englishman's answer--that she was his  
wife1 and where she went1 there it was  
his place to go4 ,the priest's reply to 
this opened the cause4 ,the marriage was
 not lawful1 and he must detain her1 and
 send her on to ,puebla1 and have her   
placed in a convent4 ,such was the order
 he had received1 and which he          
exhibited2 and the two soldiers at the  
door were stationed there to carry the  
order into execution4  ,at this point in
 the affair the ,englishman drew two    
arguments from under his coat1 and      
leveling one of them at the head of the 
padre1 suggested to him the propriety of
 not interposing any obstacle to the    
return of himself and wife to their     
home4 ,this was a poser2 an act of open 
impiety2 a ,kentucky argument4 ,but     
there was no remedy4 ,the ,inquisition  
was not now in authority2 its           
instruments of torture had been         
destroyed2 its fires had been           
extinguished2 and so the ,englishman got

 the best of the argument1 and retired  
peaceably to his own home4  ,at his     
house the ,englishman was waited upon by
 the ,alcalde1 who informed him that he 
had been ordered to take the wife1 and  
that he dared not disobey4 ,but he      
suggested a method by which the order   
might be evaded4 ,this was to send the  
wife every day1 at a certain hour1 into 
a neighbor's house1 and at that hour the
 officers would come and search his     
dwelling1 and would accordingly report  
,not found4 ,this farce continued to be 
enacted daily for nearly three months1  
when the husband1 becoming tired of it1 
wrote to the ,bishop of ,new ,orleans an
 account of the manner in which his     
house had been besieged1 and in due time
 received a reply from that excellent   
ecclesiastic1 stating that he would     
satisfactorily arrange the business2 at 
the same time expressing his regrets    
that he had not before been informed of 
the condition of affairs4  ,in the mean 
time1 another priest in the town chanced

 to be discussing the all-absorbing     
question of the day1 the heretic        
marriage1 and unfortunately happened to 
remark that a marriage by an ,american  
priest was not a lawful marriage4 ,this 
was too much for our ,englishman1 and he
 answered it--as an ,englishman is      
accustomed to answer insulting remarks  
in relation to the affairs of his       
household--not by a single blow1 but by 
such a pommeling as never a priest had  
sustained since the ,conquest4 ,yet     
there was no earthquake on the occasion1
 and ,orizaba was not discomposed at    
witnessing such a shocking act of       
impiety4  ,time moved on1 and with it   
came the parish priest to validate the  
marriage4 ,but our ,englishman would not
 be validated4 ,no1 not he2 and when the
 priest began to mutter and to move his 
hands1 the ,englishman's blood was up1  
and so was his foot1 and this ceremony  
was terminated according to a formula   
not laid down in any prayer-book now    
extant4 ,this was the end of the war4   

,the pair had passed through many       
tribulations in order to consummate     
their union2 yet both declare that the  
prize was worth the contest4   ,,the    
,,monk ,,at ,,jalapa4  ,our good monk1  
with whom we parted at ,vera ,cruz1     
visited the convent at ,jalapa1 on his  
journey1 and thus records what he saw3  
,the night of our arrival at ,jalapa we 
were entertained at the convent of ,san 
,francisco1 where we passed the day     
following1 as it was ,sunday4 ,the      
income of this convent is great1        
notwithstanding the community is        
composed of only six religios1 though it
 might well maintain more than a score  
of them4 ,the guardian of ,jalapa is no 
less vain than the prior of ,vera ,cruz2
 but he received us with much kindness1 
and treated us magnificently1 although  
we were of another order4  ,in this     
town1 as in all others1 we observed that
 the lives and customs of the clergy1   
both seculars and regulars 7monks71 were
 greatly relaxed1 and that their conduct

 completely gave the lie to their vows  
and their professions4 ,the order of    
,san ,francisco1 besides the vows common
 to the other orders2 that is to say1   
chastity and obedience1 exacts that the 
vow of poverty shall be observed more   
scrupulously than the other mendicants  
enforce it4 ,their dress should be of   
coarse cloth1 and of a color to which   
they have given a name monk's gray2     
their girdles1 or cordons1 of rope1 and 
their shirts of wool1 if they can bear  
them4 ,they are to go without stockings2
 and1 finally1 it is not lawful for them
 to use shoes1 but to wear sandals4 ,not
 only are they prohibited having money1 
but they ought not even to touch it2    
neither to possess any thing as their   
own4 ,in their journeys it is forbidden 
them to mount a horse1 although they    
should fall by the way from fatigue4 ,it
 is necessary that they should go afoot 
with sorrow and fatigue2 esteeming the  
infraction of any of these precepts a   
mortal sin1 which merits excommunication

 and hell4 ,but they neglect all the    
obligations which the rigorous          
observance of these rules imposes upon  
them--to the neglect of all discipline1 
and to the disregard of the penalties4  
,those that have been transported to    
this country live in a manner which does
 not in any thing show that they have   
made a vow to ,god of even trifling     
privations4 ,their lives are so free and
 immodest that it might be suspected1   
with reason1 that they had renounced    
only that which they could not1 or were 
unable to attain4   ,,monkish           
,,gambling4  ,we were surprised and even
 scandalized at the extraordinary sight 
of a ,san ,franciscan of ,jalapa1 riding
 most beautiful mule1 with a groom1 or  
rather lackey1 behind him1 while only   
going to the end of the village to      
confess a sick man4 ,his reverence1 as  
he went along1 had his garments tucked  
up from beneath1 which exhibited a      
stocking of orange-color2 a shoe of the 
most exquisite morocco2 small clothes of

 ,holland linen2 with knots and braids  
of four fingers in width4 ,such a       
spectacle made us observe with more     
attention the conduct of that friar1 and
 that of others beneath whose broad     
sleeves were exhibited a jacket         
embroidered with silk4 ,they also wore  
shirts of ,holland2 and hand-ruffs      
inclosed their hands4 ,but we did not   
discover1 either in their garments or in
 their table1 any thing that indicated  
mortification2 on the contrary1 every   
thing exhibited the same vanity which   
was noted in the people of the world4   
,illustration3 ,,gambling ,,in ,a       
,,convent4  ,after supper some of them  
began to speak of cards and dice1 and   
they invited us to play1 in order to    
contribute to the entertainment of their
 guests1 one hand at a rubber4 ,almost  
all of our party excused themselves2    
some for want of money1 others from not 
knowing the play4 ,at length they found 
two of our religious that would place   
themselves hand to hand with other two  

,franciscans4 ,the party being arranged1
 they commenced playing with admirable  
dexterity4 ,a little was put down at    
first2 it was doubled4 ,the loss vexed  
the one1 the gain stimulated the other4 
,at the end of a quarter of an hour the 
convent of the ,angelic ,order#g of our 
father of ,san ,francisco had converted 
itself into a gaming house1 and the poor
 religious 7friars7 into profane        
worldlings4 ,we1 who were simply        
spectators1 had occasion to observe what
 passed in the play1 and to acquire     
matter for reflection upon such a life4 
,as the game went on engrossing in      
interest1 the scandal continued to      
increase4 ,the draughts of liquor were  
repeated with much frequency2 the tongue
 unloosed itself2 oaths mingled         
themselves with jests1 while loud       
laughter made the edifice to tremble4   
,the vow of poverty did not escape from 
the sacrilegious mirth4 ,one of the ,san
 ,franciscans1 who had often touched    
money with his fingers and placed it on 

the table1 when he gained any           
considerable sum1 in order to divert the
 company1 opened his broad sleeve1 and  
with the hem he swept the table of all  
the stakes1 amounting sometimes to more 
than twenty gold ounces1 into his other 
sleeve2 saying1 at the same time1 ,take 
care of it thou that canst1 ,i have made
 a vow not to touch it4 ,it was         
impossible for me to listen to such     
imprecations1 and to witness such       
scandalous lives1 without being moved2  
more than once ,i was on the point of   
reproving them1 but ,i considered that  
,i was a stranger1 a passing guest1 and 
besides1 what ,i should say to them     
would be like preaching to the desert4  
,i therefore rose up without making any 
noise and went to my sleeping-place1    
leaving the profane crowd2 who continued
 with their diversions until the dawn4  
,the next day the friar who had laved   
his part with so much facetiousness1    
with more of the manner of a brigand    
than a religious1 more suitable for the 

school of ,sardanapalus or of ,epicurus 
than for the life of a cloister1 said   
that he had lost more than eighty       
doubloons1 or gold ounces--it appearing 
that his sleeve refused to protect that 
which he had made a vow of never        
possessing4   ,,morals ,,of ,,the       
,,monks4  ,this was the first lesson    
which the ,franciscans gave us of the   
,new ,world4 ,it clearly appeared that  
the cause of so many friars and ,jesuits
 passing from ,spain to regions so      
distant1 was libertinage rather than    
love of preaching the gospel1 or zeal   
for the conversion of souls4 ,if that   
love1 if that zeal1 were the motives of 
their conduct1 they might offer their   
own depravity as an argument in favor of
 the truths of the gospel4 ,wantonness1 
licentiousness1 avarice1 and the other  
vices which stained their conduct1      
discovered their secret intentions4     
,their anxiety for enriching themselves1
 their vanity1 the authority which they 
exercised over the poor ,indians1 are   

the motives which actuate them1 and not 
the love of ,god or the propagating of  
the faith4        #f ,essai ,politique4 
#g ,this is the title of this order of  
friars4     ,,chapter ,v4  ,the ,war of 
the ,secret ,political ,societies of    
,mexico4--,the ,scotch and the ,york    
,free-,masons4--,anti-,masons4--,rival  
classes compose ,scotch ,lodges4--,the  
,yorkinos4--,men desert from the ,scotch
 to the ,york ,lodges4--,law to suppress
 ,secret ,societies4--,the ,escoces1 or 
,scotch ,masons1 take up arms4--,the    
,battle4--,their total ,defeat4   ,as   
,jalapa is a pleasant resting-place in a
 journey to the interior1 we will stop  
here to discuss national affairs for a  
little while4 ,the first political      
subject in order is the furious contest 
that for ten years was carried on       
between two political societies1 known  
as the ,escoces and ,yorkinos--or1 as we
 should call them1 ,scotch ,free-,masons
 and ,york ,free-,masons--whose secret  
organizations were employed for         

political purposes by two rival         
political parties4   ,,masons ,,and     
,,anti-,,masons4  ,at the time of the   
restoration of the ,constitutional      
,government of ,spain in #ahbj1         
,free-,masonry was introduced into      
,mexico2 and as it was derived from the 
,scotch branch of that order1 it was    
called1 after the name of the people of 
,scotland1 ,escoces4 ,into this         
institution were initiated many of the  
old ,spaniards still remaining in the   
country1 the ,creole aristocracy1 and   
the privileged classes--parties that    
could ill endure the elevation of a     
,creole colonel1 ,iturbide1 to the      
,imperial throne4 ,when ,mr4 ,poinsett  
was sent out as ,embassador to ,mexico1 
he carried with him the charter for a   
,grand ,lodge from the ,american1 or    
,york order of ,free-,masons in the     
,united ,states4 ,into this new order   
the leaders of the ,democratic party    
were initiated4 ,the bitter rivalry that
 sprung up between these two branches of

 the ,masonic body1 kept the country in 
a ferment for ten years1 and resulted   
finally in the formation of a party     
whose motto was opposition to all secret
 societies1 and who derived their name  
of ,anti-,masons from the party of the  
same name then flourishing in the       
,united ,states4  ,when the ,escoces had
 so far lost ground in popular favor1 as
 to be in the greatest apprehension from
 their prosperous but imbittered rivals1
 the ,yorkinos1 as a last resort1 to    
save themselves1 and to ruin the hated  
organization1 they pronounced against   
all secret societies4 ,suerez y         
,navarro1 in his ,life of ,santa ,anna1 
thus relates the history of these       
,secret ,political ,societies3  ,after  
the lodges had been established1 crowds 
ran to initiate themselves into the     
mysteries of ,free-,masonry2 persons of 
all conditions1 from the opulent        
magnates down to the humblest artisans4 
,in the ,scotch lodges were the         
,spaniards who were disaffected toward  

the independence2 ,mexicans who had     
taken up arms against the original      
insurgents through error or ignorance2  
those who obstinately declared          
themselves in favor of calling the      
,spanish ,bourbons to the ,imperial     
throne of ,mexico2 those who disliked   
the ,federal system2 the partisans of   
the ancient regime2 the enemies of all  
reform1 even when reforms were          
necessary1 as the consequence of the    
independence4 ,to this party 7after the 
overthrow of the ,empire7 also belonged 
the partisans of ,iturbide2 those who   
were passionately devoted to monarchy2  
and the privileged classes4  ,in the    
assemblages of the ,yorkinos were united
 all who were republicans from          
conviction1 and those who followed the  
popular current--the mass of the people 
having devoted themselves to this       
organization4 ,it is enough to say1 in  
order to mark the position of both      
parties1 that among the ,yorkinos       
figured1 in great numbers1 those that   

believed the name of republican was not 
a mere imagination4  ,some individuals  
of both associations had the same object
 and the same identical end1 and only   
differed in the modes of making their   
principles triumphant4 ,a great number  
of persons1 who co-operated in the      
creation of the new order1 had belonged 
to the ,scotch order1 and had labored   
for the overthrow of ,iturbide4 ,they   
knew the secrets of the ,scotch party1  
their projects1 their tendencies2 and   
the desertion of such furnished a       
thousand elements to the new order to   
make war upon the party they had        
abandoned4 ,when parties were fully     
organized and assailing each other1 the 
contest became terrible1 and its        
consequences fearfully disastrous4      
,actions the most harmless1 and         
questions purely personal1 were matters 
for the contests of parties4 ,the press 
was the organ of mutual accusations--now
 against particular individuals1 and now
 against parties in conjunction4 ,the   

,escoces multiplied their attacks until 
they lost all influence in affairs4     
,generals1 ,senators1 ,deputies1 and    
,ministers abandoned their standard1 as 
time increased the power of their rival 
with every class of individuals that    
embraced the new order4 ,in the nature  
of things there was desertion and fear1 
because1 as a writer1 who was initiated 
into both orders1 remarks3 ',a general  
enthusiasm had taken possession of men's
 minds1 who thought they saw in the new 
order the establishment of future       
prosperity4'  ,the seekers for office   
found ready access in these lodges to   
those who had office to dispense4 ,the  
liberal found in the ,york lodges the   
strong support of liberty and liberal   
institutions4 ,the high functionaries of
 government found aid and support in the
 strength of opinions2 and the people1  
ever in search of novelty1 united       
themselves to this association1 in order
 to form one mass which sooner or later 
would suppress the privileged classes4  

,,intrigues4  ,no intrigue1 nor any     
effort1 was able to check the progress  
of the ,york lodges4 ,this induced their
 enemies to present the project of a law
 in the ,senate1 where the ,escoces had 
a majority1 to suppress secret societies
 by severe penalties against those who  
adhered to such associations4 ,for the  
better insuring of success1 the ,escoces
 assumed the language of morality2 and1 
confounding their own affair with that  
of their native country1 clamored       
hypocritically against the pernicious   
influence which clandestine meetings    
exercised in public affairs4 ,according 
to them the cry of the nation was       
against secret societies4 ,the bill     
passed the ,senate after prolonged      
discussion1 being supported by those    
persons who knew it was intended to     
satisfy an offended party1 whose        
prestige diminished day by day4 ,if the 
factions had not originated in secret   
societies1 they might have extirpated   
the evil by proscribing masonry4 ,when  

have the ravages of the hurricane been  
found to content themselves with logical
 and pleasant words8 ,at what time1 and 
in what country1 has a law been         
enforced1 where those who were to       
execute it found an insuperable obstacle
 in their own sentiments8 ,indeed1 it   
was impossible to destroy the political 
fanaticism of the day by the mere dash  
of a pen6 ,the evil had gone to its     
utmost limit1 and could not be cured by 
rigor or persecution4  ,the             
demoralization was so great that it     
extended to the armed force1 because the
 greater part of the chiefs and officers
 had joined one or the other of the     
societies4 ,besides the seductive       
influences of the lodges1 two generals1 
distinguished for their services in the 
first insurrectionary war1 brought with 
them a number of soldiers to the party  
to which each severally belonged4       
,general ,nicholas ,bravo was the head  
of the ,escoces1 and ,don ,vincente     
,guerrero was the leader of the         

,yorkinos4 ,both derived support from   
the names and prestige of these two     
personages1 and from the popularity     
which each enjoyed with his             
companions-in-arms4 ,the ,scotch party  
feared the day would come1 in which the 
deputies--the majority of whom were     
their enemies--would decree the total   
proscription of all those persons who   
were hostile1 or suspected of being     
hostile1 to the ,yorkinos1 as the       
,chambers had fallen into the practice  
of submitting to the caprices of the    
dominant order4 ,they therefore appealed
 to arms1 having exhausted the right of 
petition4  ,general ,bravo1             
,vice-,president of ,mexico1 and leader 
of the ,escoces1 having issued his      
proclamation1 declaring that1 as a last 
resort1 he appealed to arms to rid the  
republic of that pest--secret societies1
 and that he would not give up the      
contest until he had rooted them out1   
root and branch1 took up his position at
 ,tulansingo--a village about thirty    

miles north of the ,city of ,mexico4    
,here1 at about daylight on the morning 
of the #gth ,january1 #ahbh1 he was     
assailed by ,general ,guerrero1 the     
leader of the ,yorkinos1 and commander  
of the forces of government4  ,after a  
slight skirmish1 in which eight men were
 killed and six wounded1 ,general ,bravo
 and his party were made prisoners2 and 
thus perished forever the party of the  
,escoces4 ,this victory was so complete 
as to prove a real disaster to the      
,yorkinos4 ,the want of outside pressure
 led to internal dissensions2 so that   
when two of its own members1 ,guerrero  
and ,pedraza1 became rival candidates   
for the presidency1 the election was    
determined by a resort to arms1 which   
brought about the terrible insurrection 
of the ,acordada4     ,,chapter ,,vi4   
,mexico becomes an ,empire4--,santa     
,anna deposes the ,emperor4--,he        
proclaims a ,republic4--,he pronounces  
against the ,election of ,pedraza1 the  
second ,president4--,his situation in   

the ,convent at ,oajaca4--,he captures  
the ,spanish ,armada4--,and is made     
,general of ,division4   ,we left ,santa
 ,anna at ,vera ,cruz1 having just      
completed the first of those            
politico-military insurrections which   
fill up the history of his times4 ,he   
had added the city of ,vera ,cruz to the
 national cause1 by a timely            
insurrection4 ,iturbide had rewarded him
 for this important service by bestowing
 upon him the ribbon of the order of    
,guadalupe1 making him second in command
 at ,vera ,cruz4 ,the chief command of  
the department was bestowed upon an old 
insurrectionary leader1 who was known by
 the assumed name of ,guadalupe         
,victoria4 ,he was a good-natured1      
honest1 inefficient old man1 whose great
 merit consisted in having lived for two
 years in a dense forest1 far beyond the
 habitations of men4 ,while thus hiding 
himself from a host of pursuers1 he     
acquired that habit1 supposed to be     
peculiar to wild beasts1 of passing     

several days without food1 and then     
eating inordinate quantities--a habit   
which he found impossible to change in  
after-life1 when he had become          
,president of ,mexico4 ,the story of    
this man's sojourn among wild beasts had
 been told all over ,mexico1 and had    
given him a great popularity1 which he  
brought to the support of the national  
cause4  ,in #ahbb the ,mexican nation   
was still in its swaddling clothes4 ,its
 birth had hardly cost a pang2 but its  
infancy1 its childhood1 and its youth1  
were to be attended with a series of    
convulsions1 the fruits of the vicious  
seeds sown in the conception of the new 
,state4 ,by the pronunciamiento of a    
part of a regiment of the ,king's       
,creole troops the connection between   
,spain and ,mexico was severed forever1 
and the colonel of these troops became  
the ,emperor of ,mexico4 ,in this       
revolution the nation acquiesced1 and   
thus discovered to the soldiery their   
unlimited power when their arms are     

turned against their own government4    
,from that time onward ,mexico1 like    
every other country where the ,spanish  
language is spoken1 became the victim of
 her own soldiery4 ,this liberation of  
,mexico was by no means the result of   
the outburst of national patriotism1 but
 the consequence of the utter incapacity
 of ,spain longer to hold the reins of  
her colonial governments4 ,she indeed   
sent out a new vice-king to ,mexico     
after the breaking out of the           
insurrection2 but the best that he could
 do was to sanction what had been done  
by a treaty at ,cordova1 in which it was
 stipulated that ,iturbide and the new  
viceroy1 ,o',donoghue1 should be        
associated with others in a regency1    
until ,spain should send out one of the 
,spanish ,bourbon princes to occupy the 
imperial throne of ,mexico4  ,the       
,spanish parliament refused to sanction 
the treaty of ,cordova2 ,o',donoghue    
died1 and ,iturbide was left in         
possession of executive power1 without a

 defined office1 while an insane        
opposition sprung up against him in the 
new ,congress which he had called       
together4 ,this unlooked-for opposition 
soon convinced him that the tearing away
 of a nation from its traditional ideas 
was like the letting out of waters1 and 
that he must either ride upon the wave  
or be overborne by the tempest4 ,a      
resolution of ,congress1 to take from   
him the command of the army1 brought    
matters to a crisis4 ,accordingly1 on   
the night of the #ahth of ,march1 #ahba1
 he caused himself to be proclaimed     
,emperor by his partisans2 and the next 
day this new revolutionary act was      
confirmed by ,congress1 under the       
intimidation of military force1 and the 
nation again acquiesced4  ,,iturbide    
,,deposed4  ,the revolution had caused a
 stagnation in all the departments of   
commerce and of revenue4 ,iturbide had  
inaugurated his insurrection by seizing1
 at ,iguala1 a million of dollars       
belonging to the ,manilla ,company1 on  

its way to ,acapulco4 ,he made another  
like seizure at ,perote2 but these      
high-handed measures1 while they proved 
but a drop in the bucket toward         
sustaining his government1 increased his
 embarrassments1 by destroying all      
confidence2 so that his new authority   
had stamped upon it the unmistakable    
marks of dissolution4 ,he was an emperor
 without traditional associations2 he   
had an empire without a revenue2 a large
 standing army without pay4 ,the fickle 
multitude1 who supposed that            
independence was to prove an antidote   
for every evil1 began to murmur2 while a
 host of demagogues1 who envied the good
 fortune of ,iturbide1 were all         
beginning to clamor for a republic4 ,the
 blow1 however1 came from an unexpected 
quarter4 ,santa ,anna had quarreled with
 a superior officer1 ,general           
,echevarri1 and ,iturbide had recalled  
him from his command4 ,but ,santa ,anna 
thought it most advisable to disobey the
 ,emperor2 and in the ,plaza of ,vera   

,cruz1 surrounded by the garrison1 he   
proclaimed a republic1 on the #b;d of   
,december1 #ahbb4 ,he joined in his     
insurrection the name and the influence 
of ,victoria1 yet both were insufficient
 to save him from a complete route at   
the hands of ,echevarri4 ,at the        
critical moment in the affairs of ,santa
 ,anna1 the ,grand ,lodge of the        
,ecosces decreed the overthrow of       
,iturbide1 and sent orders to ,general  
,echevarri1 who was a member of the     
order1 to unite his forces to those of  
,santa ,anna in overturning the empire4 
,this was a bitter pill for that general
 to swallow1 but he swallowed it2 and   
the two leaders together swallowed the  
empire4  ,iturbide1 being unable to stem
 the torrent of insurrection1 had       
abdicated2 a ,republic had been         
established upon the ruins of the       
empire1 and ,victoria1 the wild man of  
the woods1 was elected first ,president4
 ,he served out his time2 but the last  
year of his government was disturbed by 

the terrible insurrection of the        
,acordada1 which had arisen out of the  
election of ,pedraza as his successor4  
,santa ,anna was1 at the time of this   
election1 at ,jalapa1 discharging the   
duties of ,vice-,governor of ,vera      
,cruz1 when the people of the town      
surrounded his house and called upon him
 to pronounce against the election4     
,thus becoming implicated1 he was forced
 to make a new insurrection4 ,this third
 pronunciamiento of ,santa ,anna1 was on
 the #eth of ,september1 #ahbh4  ,he    
made his first stand at the ,castle of  
,perote2 but finding this too isolated a
 position1 he marched to ,oajaca1 in the
 extreme southwest of the ,republic1 and
 took up his quarters in the ,dominican 
convent of that city4 ,as he was closely
 hemmed in by an active enemy1          
provisions grew scarce1 and he was      
forced to resort to a novel method of   
supplying himself4 ,on a feast-day1 at  
the ,san ,franciscan church1 he dressed 
a party of his soldiers in the garb of  

monks1 and1 having placed them in a     
convenient position1 he made prisoners  
of the whole assembled congregation1 and
 then proceeded to divest them of all   
ready cash on hand1 and then emptied the
 contribution-box of the money destined 
for the poor saints#h at ,jerusalem1 and
 retired and ended the war2 for the     
successful termination of the           
insurrection of the ,acordada in the    
city of ,mexico accomplished the object 
for which ,santa ,anna took up arms--the
 declaration by ,congress1 that ,general
 ,guerrero1 a man of mixed blood was the
 real ,president elect1 instead of      
,pedraza1 a white man1 and the candidate
 of the aristocracy4   ,,capture ,,of   
,,the ,,armada4  ,when ,king ,ferdinand 
had regained his despotic authority1 in 
#ahbe1 by the aid of ,french bayonets1  
he bethought himself of ,mexico1 the    
most productive of his lost colonial    
possessions in ,america1 which had      
yielded1 to his predecessors1 the total 
sum of #b1jdj1jdh1dbf1i or rather an    

annual revenue in silver dollars of     
#f1hjj1jjj during a period of three     
hundred years4 ,he was also incited by  
his impoverished noblesse1 who could no 
longer obtain colonial appointments for 
their sons4 ,the ,spanish merchants also
 complained of the loss of their        
monopolies4 ,but what at last aroused   
him to activity was the expulsion of the
 ,spaniards from ,mexico1 in consequence
 of the ascendancy of the democratic    
party4 ,those of mixed and ,indian blood
 were now truly enfranchised2 and they  
were heard to utter strange voices1     
which had until then been suppressed by 
the combined power of a spiritual and   
temporal despotism3 so that the bones of
 ,cortez1 the benefactor of the ,kings  
of ,spain1 were no longer safe in the   
convent of ,san ,francisco1 where they  
had lain for three hundred years4#aj    
,they were in such imminent danger of   
being dragged out and scattered to the  
winds by the mob1 as those of the       
accursed enslaver of their race1 that   

they were removed by stealth1 and for a 
time deposited in the most sacred shrine
 in ,mexico3 afterward they were        
secretly removed to ,europe1 where they 
cried to the ,spanish king for vengeance
 on the sacrilegious nation4 ,an ,armada
 was at last fitted out1 and landed at  
,tampico2 and now all ,mexicans1 from   
the ,president down to the humblest     
peon1 watched the result with the       
deepest anxiety1 as they saw ,santa     
,anna undertaking the defense of the    
country with untried soldiers4 ,for on  
the issue of the struggle depended the  
question whether the whole nation should
 be again reduced to servitude1 or      
whether they should be left in the      
enjoyment of their newly-acquired       
liberty4 ,the contest was one of several
 days' continuance3 when at last it was 
terminated by a capitulation1 all       
,mexico rang with rejoicing2 and ,santa 
,anna1 then not thirty-five years of    
age1 received the military rank which he
 now holds--,general of ,division4      

#h ,breva ,resena ,historica1 p4 #bhj4  
#i ,see ,king's ,proclamation1 printed  
at ,havana1 #fth ,september1            
#ahca4        #aj ,see note #a4         
,,chapter ,,vii4  ,in the ,stage and out
 of the ,stage4--,still climbing4--,a   
moment's ,view of all the ,kingdoms of  
the ,world4--,again in obscurity4--,the 
,maguey1 or ,century ,plant4--,the many 
uses of the ,maguey4--,the intoxicating 
juice of the                            
,maguey4--,pulque4--,immense            
,consumption of ,pulque4--,city of      
,perote4--,castle of ,san ,carlos de    
,perote4--,starlight upon the           
,table-land4--,tequisquita4--,the ,bad  
,land4--,a very old ,beggar4--,arrive at
 ,puebla4   ,the time allotted for my   
visit to ,jalapa had come to a close4 ,i
 took out the ticket1 endorsed ,escala  
donde le convengo1 which ,i             
translated--,let him stop when1 where1  
and as long as he pleases1 and once more
 took my seat in the stage1 which1 on a 
fine afternoon1 was starting for ,perote

 upon the table-land4 ,this short       
journey lay across the mountain of      
,perote1 passing over an elevation of   
#aj1djj feet1 the highest elevation that
 a stage-coach has yet reached1 and one 
from which the traveler can oftentimes  
enjoy a view of all the vegetable       
kingdoms of the world in a moment of    
time4 ,i took my seat upon the top of   
the coach1 above the driver1 that ,i    
might enjoy a last lingering look at    
this ,nature's paradise1 before the     
mountain-ridge should intervene between 
the world ,i had left behind1 and the   
great salt desert that we were soon to  
traverse4  ,the prospect from the       
coach-top1 as we traveled onward1 was   
even more beautiful than that ,i have   
already described4 ,for several miles   
beyond ,jalapa we were descending and   
passing through one of those valleys of 
which the ,spanish poets so often sing1 
where the roadside is covered with a    
profusion of the flowers and vegetation 
that flourish only in the most luxuriant

 soil4 ,the valley was soon passed1 and 
we began to ascend so rapidly1 that     
before an hour had passed we could mark 
the changing vegetation1 and observe the
 products of a colder climate2 for this 
changing vegetation is a barometer1     
which1 in ,mexico1 marks the ascent and 
descent as regularly as the most        
nicely-adjusted artificial instrument4  
,so accurately are the stratas of       
vegetation adjusted to the stratas of   
the atmosphere which they inhabit1 as to
 lead the traveler to imagine that a    
gardener's hand had laid out the        
different fields which here rise one    
above another upon the side of the      
mountain that constitutes the eastern   
inclosure of the table-land4 ,the       
fertility of the soil did not seem to   
diminish2 it was only the character of  
the vegetation that changed step by     
step1 as we wound our way up toward the 
summit of the ,perote4   ,,mountain     
,,view4  ,we changed horses at ,la      
,hoya1 a place memorable in the annals  

of civil war1 as the spot where ,general
 ,rincon blocked up the pass when ,santa
 ,anna was retiring in #ahde1 a fugitive
 from the country4 ,here the road       
becomes so steep as to induce the       
traveler to walk a little1 for the      
better opportunities he can thus have of
 surveying the novel sights that present
 themselves at every turn of the road4  
,when he is fatigued with climbing1 and 
breathing the peculiar air of this      
altitude1 he can seat himself by the    
roadside to wait the arrival of the     
coach1 and to catch momentary glimpses1 
among floating clouds1 of the country   
through which he has passed in his      
ascent from the coast4 ,he can see a    
long distance through such a rarified   
atmosphere2 but it is only a bird's-eye 
view1 as the mass that is heaped        
together is more than his vision can    
fully take in1 before a cloud1 ragged   
and torn1 has passed across the picture4
 ,the eye is delighted more with the    
details of a scene1 than with this mass 

of all the excellences of all the       
climates4 ,still he has time to divide  
into sections the world below him2 and  
as he thus contemplates in part1 he at  
length realizes as a whole the scene    
that is presented4 ,the art of man never
 has1 and never can1 produce such a     
combination in the arrangement of the   
courses of vegetation4 ,as the traveler 
stands at an elevation where pine-trees 
crow in the tropics1 where a            
post-and-board fence incloses a field of
 grain1 and where a storm of snow and   
sleet had fallen only a few hours       
before1 he can look down upon hills and 
plains1 one below another1 each one1 in 
the descending scale1 exhibiting more   
and more of tropical productions1 until 
the regions of cocoa-nuts1 and bananas1 
and sarsaparilla1 and palms1 and jalap1 
and vanilla1 are reached in his         
perspective4 ,this is a specimen chart1 
where all the climates and productions  
of the world are embraced within the    
scope of a single glance4  ,it is time  

to re-enter the coach1 and close all    
openings1 for a dense fog is coming up  
from the sea1 and has thrown so thick a 
curtain over the prospect1 that the eye 
can not penetrate it4 ,the long line of 
freight-wagons1 that have served to mark
 the route that we have come1 disappear1
 one after another3 we ourselves are    
soon enveloped in darkness4 ,with the   
fog has come a chill and piercing air1  
and the pleasure of our mountain ride is
 now over4 ,still we move on and up with
 little hindrance1 as the road on this  
side of the divide is in good repair4   
,but as we go down on the other side1 we
 are impeded by freight-wagons held fast
 in the mud1 and unable to move         
down-hill--it being easier to drag a    
wagon up an ascent than to draw it      
down-hill through stiff mud4 ,an        
entirely different world now presents   
itself4 ,we are in a fine grain-growing 
country4 ,well-cultivated fields stretch
 out as far as the eye can reach1 with  
farm-houses scattered here and there1   

that strikingly remind the traveler of  
his northern home at this season of the 
year4   ,,the ,,maguey4--,,pulque4  ,the
 fences here are chiefly formed by rows 
of the maguey or century plant1 growing 
at the side of a ditch4 ,here it reaches
 its greatest perfection1 and adds      
materially to the fine appearance of the
 fields1 and is seen every where upon   
the table-land4 ,it grows wild upon the 
mountains1 and springs up in            
uncultivated places1 as a weed4 ,it is  
cultivated1 as a domestic plant1 in     
little patches1 and is also planted in  
fields of leagues in extent4 ,it grows  
luxuriantly in the richest soils1 and   
shows itself in those desert plains1    
where nothing else1 except a few spears 
of stinted grass and chaparral can      
exist4  ,the uses to which the maguey is
 applied are more numerous than the     
methods of its cultivation4 ,when its   
immense leaf is pounded into a pulp1 it 
forms a substitute for both cloth and   
paper4 ,the fibre of the leaf1 when     

beaten and spun1 forms a beautiful      
thread1 resembling silk in its glossy   
texture1 but which1 when woven into a   
fabric1 more resembles linen than silk4 
,this thread is now1 and ever has been1 
the sewing thread of the country4 ,the  
leaf of the maguey1 when crudely dressed
 and spun into a coarse thread1 is woven
 into sail-cloth and sacking2 and from  
it is made the bagging in common use4   
,the ropes made from it are of that kind
 called ,manilla hemp4 ,it is the best  
material in use for wrapping paper4     
,when cut into coarse straws1 it forms  
the brooms and whitewash-brushes of the 
country2 and1 as a substitute for       
bristles1 it is made into scrub-brushes2
 and1 finally1 it supplies the place of 
hair-combs among the common people4     
,the great value of the maguey plant    
arises from the amount of intoxicating  
liquid which it produces1 which is the  
chief source of intoxication among the  
common people of the table-land4 ,there 
are two species of this plant           

cultivated4 ,one of them flourishes in  
the desert portions of the country1 from
 which an abominable liquor is          
distilled1 called mescal1 or mejical4   
,the other is the flowering maguey1 or  
century plant1 of which so many fabulous
 stories are told in the ,united        
,states4 ,this is one of the wonders of 
the vegetable world4 ,until the plant   
has reached its tenth year1 or          
thereabouts1 there is no trace of a     
flower4 ,in its fifteenth year1 or      
thereabout1 there are certain           
appearances which indicate that the     
central stem1 or hampe1 which sustains  
the flower1 is about to form in the     
centre of the plant4 ,if persons are not
 on the watch to cut out the heart at   
the proper time1 the hampe shoots out1  
and grows to about the height of a      
telegraph post--for which ,i have often 
mistaken it--absorbing in its           
development the sap1 which1 when        
fermented1 forms the intoxicating drink 
called pulque4 ,the sprouting of the    

stalk takes place in ,november or       
,december2 but the beautiful cluster of 
flowers1 for which it is so much        
admired1 does not form at its top till  
,february4 ,in this last month1 the     
monster leaf that envelops the hampe    
begins gradually to unfold itself1      
exposing to view a slender stalk1 higher
 than a man on horseback1 with arms     
extended4 ,on this stalk grow the       
flowers4 ,such is the century plant--in 
botanical language1 the ,agava          
,americana4  ,the juice of the maguey1  
in its unfermented state1 is called     
honey-water4 ,it is gathered from the   
central basin by cutting off a side-leaf
 and cutting out the heart1 just before 
the sprouting of the hampe1 for whose   
sustenance this juice is destined4 ,the 
basin1 thus formed1 yields every day    
from four to seven quarts--according to 
the size and thriftiness of the         
plant--for a period of two or three     
months4 ,the process of taking it out of
 the plant is a little curious4 ,into   

the end of a long gourd is inserted a   
cow's horn1 bored at the point2 through 
this horn and into the gourd the juice  
is sucked up by applying the mouth to a 
hole in the opposite side of the gourd4 
,from the gourd-shell the juice is      
emptied into a bottle formed from the   
skin of a hog1 which still retains much 
of the form of the animal4 ,to form this
 bottle of honey-water into pulque1 all 
that is necessary is to put into it a   
little of the same material which has   
been laid aside till it became sour1    
which operates like yeast1 causing the  
honey-water to ferment4  ,as soon as the
 maguey juice in the hog-skin has       
fermented1 it is pulque2 and is readily 
sold for eight1 and sometimes as high as
 twenty-five cents a quart1 producing a 
very large revenue upon the cost of the 
plant4 ,it is not ordinarily sold at    
wholesale2 but each maguey estate has   
its retail shops in town1 from which the
 whole product of the estate is retailed
 out4 ,one man1 who has five of these   

shops in the city of ,mexico1 keeps his 
carriage2 and is reckoned1 among the    
magnates of the land1 deriving from this
 source alone1 it is said1 #be1jjj a    
year4 ,the excise which ,government     
derives from the sale of this liquor1   
which1 in taste1 resembles sour         
butter-milk1 amounted to #hag1gci in the
 year #agic4   ,,perote4  ,the traveler 
from the coast always arrives at ,perote
 at a late hour2 and as he leaves it    
again at an early hour next morning1 he 
recollects nothing of it but its chilly 
night air1 and the good supper which he 
was too cold to enjoy4 ,but on his      
return from ,mexico1 he usually has an  
hour of daylight1 which he can improve  
in a survey of this small and cleanly   
town4 ,here the freight-wagons1 with    
their twenty horses apiece1 stop to     
recruit2 and the cargo-mules1 that take 
this route1 are gathered in the immense 
stable-yards1 which give to the place   
the appearance of a collection of       
caravansaries4 ,the whitewash-brush has 

been industriously applied to the       
outside of the houses2 and though they  
are chiefly built of that frail         
material1 dried mud1 they present a very
 neat and tidy appearance1 giving one a 
very correct idea of what may have been 
the appearance of one of the first class
 of ,indian towns in the times of       
,cortez4  ,a few rods to the north of   
the town stands the castle of ,san      
,carlos--a square fort1 with a moat and 
glacis4 ,it is built in the best style  
of fortifications of the last century1  
having been designed as a depository for
 silver1 when1 in consequence of the    
wars of ,spain with maritime nations1 it
 was not deemed prudent to send it      
forward to the coast3 it was much used  
for this purpose when the road below was
 blocked up1 in the times of the        
insurrection1 that began in the year    
#ahaj4 ,at one time the accumulation    
here was so great that it is said to    
have amounted to #dj1jjj1jjj of silver  
dollars2 weighing about #acjj tons1 or a

 little short of the whole silver export
 of two years4 ,this castle is now in a 
fine state of repair4 ,it has a large   
garrison of lancers1 and at the time of 
my visit was daily in expectation of the
 arrival of ,santa ,anna4 ,from this    
castle ,santa ,anna1 in #ahbh1 issued   
his pronunciamiento against ,pedraza4   
,in this castle he was imprisoned by    
,rincon1 in #ahde1 after his capture at 
,xico4 ,from this castle he was banished
 by decree of the ,mexican ,congress2   
and to it he was now returning to hold  
the supreme power in the ,state4  ,at   
two o'clock in the morning we were      
aroused from our comfortable beds to    
take our places in the stage2 and soon  
we were again upon the road4 ,there is  
something exceedingly attractive in the 
appearance of the skies upon this       
elevated table-land1 #gfib feet above   
the ocean4 ,the morning star-light is   
very beautiful4 ,it is so much clearer1 
and the stars are therefore so much     
brighter here than in the dense         

atmosphere where we inhabit1 that the   
traveler1 half chilled and sleeping1    
rouses himself to contemplate the       
brilliant sights above him4 ,the        
brightest stars that he has watched from
 childhood up1 are brighter now than    
ever4 ,new stars have filled the voids  
in his celestial chart1 and satellites  
are dancing round well-known planets4   
,the ,north ,star is still visible1 now 
#ai deg4 above the horizon4 ,the ,dipper
 has dipped far down to the northward4  
,the ,southern ,cross--that mysterious  
combination of five stars1 that emblem  
of the faith of ,southern ,america1     
which only reaches full meridian at     
midnight prayers--is here #be deg4 above
 the horizon1 shining brilliantly4 ,and 
then there are so many unknown southern 
stars1 and so many unfamiliar           
constellations1 that the short hours of 
night are well spent upon the driver's  
box4  ,we have been gradually descending
 into what appears to have once been the
 bottom of a salt lake4 ,the ground is  

partially incrusted with a compound salt
 called tequisquita1 is composed of     
equal proportions of muriate of soda1   
carbonate of soda1 and insoluble metal  
7common earth73 this compound is used by
 the ,mexican bakers and soap-boilers as
 a substitute for salt and soda4 ,a     
stinted grass is here and there         
scattered in patches over the bad land1 
as these barren plains are called2 but  
the dry earth1 which is rarely moistened
 for six months together1 is covered    
with drifting sand1 which is driven     
about by the hot winds of this desert4  
,how great was the change from what we  
had passed6 ,the celestial chart1 that  
we had been admiring with so much       
rapture1 had gradually rolled itself up1
 and as the sun came out1 we had a view 
of the dreariness around us4 ,it was    
truly a bad land--a land of evil--even a
 land for wolves to prowl in1 and where 
vultures watch for the carcasses of     
dying mules1 and where robbers ply their
 calling with little fear of detection4 

,here1 in the midst of all this         
dreariness1 we saw a pretty lake1 and   
beautiful scenery around it1 that looked
 for a little while like an enchanted   
scene1 and then vanished into air4 ,we  
passed the hostelry of ,tepeyagualco1   
where water is drawn from a fabulous    
depth1 and soon came to that most       
celebrated spring of fresh water1       
situated upon the boundary-line of the  
two departments of ,vera ,cruz and      
,puebla1 and bearing the poetical name  
of ,the ,eye of ,waters4 ,but we were   
followed by a driving storm of sand all 
the way to ,nopaluca1 where we          
breakfasted at twelve o'clock4   ,,aged 
,,beggar4  ,as we came out from         
breakfast we encountered an old beggar1 
whom ,i had often seen before at this   
place4 ,he was so old that ,time seemed 
to have forgotten him1 and he too had   
forgotten ,time4 ,he could only reach   
his age by approximation3 he recollected
 that his third son was earning         
day-wages when the decree came 7in      

#agfg7 for the expulsion of the         
,jesuits4 ,this would make the old      
beggar #acj years of age1 if we call the
 son eighteen1 and the father           
twenty-five at the time of his birth4   
,poor old man6 how much he has suffered 
from outliving his own kindred4 ,one    
after another he has followed to the    
grave his children and his children's   
children1 to the third and fourth       
generation1 till now the lad that leads 
him by the hand1 the only link that     
binds him to the race of the living1 is 
of the sixth generation4  ,toward       
evening1 after we had passed the storm  
of dust1 we came to the large village of
 ,amosoque1 which is the only town of   
any magnitude between ,perote and       
,puebla4 ,it is noted for its excellent 
spurs2 and was formerly much more noted 
as a haunt of robbers4 ,from this       
village we were driven in a little more 
than an hour to the city of ,puebla4    
,,chapter ,,viii4  ,puebla4--,the       
,miracle of the ,angels4--,a ,city of   

,priests4--,marianna in ,bronze4--,the  
,vega of ,puebla4--,first ,view of the  
,pyramid of ,cholula4--,modern          
,additions to it4--,the ,view from its  
,top4--,quetzalcoatl4--,cholula and     
,tlascala4--,cholula without the        
,poetry4--,indian ,relics4   ,pueblo de 
los ,angelos--the ,village of the       
,angels--derives its name from a miracle
 that occurred during the building of   
its celebrated ,cathedral4 ,while its   
walls were going up1 angels are said to 
have come down from heaven nightly1 and 
laid on the walls the same amount of    
stone and mortar that the masons laid   
the day previous4 ,it is1 of course1 a  
sacred city4 ,its people1 particularly  
the women1 are the most devout in all   
,mexico2 and1 of course1 the most       
profligate1 as we shall show presently4 
,it is a city of priests1 and monks1 and
 nuns1 and friars1 of every order1 white
 and gray1 black and greasy4 ,as in all 
,spanish-,american towns1 the fronts of 
the houses are plastered and painted in 

fresco2 but the fresco painting has gone
 too long without renewing1 and the town
 looks now1 as it did two years ago1    
gray1 streaked1 and inhospitable4 ,the  
unwashed houses are filled with unwashed
 people2 and the streets swarm with     
filthy beggars1 and monks asking for    
alms in the name of the most blessed    
,virgin4 ,the streets1 thanks to the    
male and female chain-gangs1 are kept   
quite clean4 ,but all else is dirty4 ,if
 the angels1 when they finished their   
work on the ,cathedral1 had left a      
whitewash brush behind them1 they would 
have done the city a real service4 ,the 
houses1 inside and out1 and occupants   
too1 and the reputation of its men from 
olden time1 all need whitewashing4      
,,character ,,of ,,the ,,poblanas4      
,perhaps ,i could not present a more    
deplorable picture of the moral         
condition of the ladies of ,puebla1 who 
are celebrated for being so very devout1
 but not very virtuous1 than by copying 
the following from ,madame ,calderon de 

la ,barca's ,life in ,mexico3           
,yesterday 7,sunday71 a great day here  
for visiting after mass is over4 ,we had
 a concourse of ,spaniards1 all of whom 
seemed anxious to know whether or not ,i
 intended to wear a ,poblana dress at   
the fancy ball1 and seemed wonderfully  
interested about it4 ,two young ladies  
or women of ,puebla1 introduced by      
,senor ----1 came to proffer their      
services in giving me all the necessary 
particulars1 and dressed the hair of    
,josefa1 a little ,mexican girl1 to show
 me how it should be arranged2 mentioned
 several things still wanting1 and told 
me that every one was much pleased at   
the idea of my going in a ,poblana      
dress4 ,i was rather surprised that     
every one should trouble themselves     
about it4 ,about twelve o'clock the     
,president1 in full uniform1 attended by
 his aids-de-camp1 paid me a visit1 and 
sat about half an hour1 very amiable as 
usual4 ,shortly after came more visits1 
and just as we had supposed they were   

all concluded1 and we were going to     
dinner1 we were told that the ,secretary
 of ,state1 the ,ministers of ,war and  
of the ,interior1 and others1 were in   
the drawing-room4 ,and what do you think
 was the purport of their visit8 ,to    
adjure me by all that was most alarming1
 to discard the idea of making my       
appearance in a ,poblana dress6 ,they   
assured us that ,poblanas generally were
 femmes de rien1 that they wore no      
stockings1 and that the wife of the     
,spanish ,minister should by no means   
assume1 even for one evening1 such a    
costume4 ,i brought in my dresses1      
showed their length and their propriety1
 but in vain2 and1 in fact1 as to their 
being in the right1 there could be no   
doubt1 and nothing but a kind motive    
could have induced them to take this    
trouble2 so ,i yielded with a good      
grace1 and thanked the cabinet council  
for their timely warning1 though fearing
 that1 in this land of procrastination1 
it would be difficult to procure another

 dress for the fancy ball4              
,illustration3 ,,ecclesiastical         
,,costumes4  ,they had scarcely gone1   
when ,senor ---- brought a message from 
several of the principal ladies here1   
whom we do not even know1 and who had   
requested that1 as a stranger1 ,i should
 be informed of the reasons which       
rendered the ,poblana dress             
objectionable in this country1          
especially on any public occasion like  
this ball4 ,i was really thankful for my
 escape4  ,just as ,i was dressing for  
dinner1 a note was brought1 marked      
reservada 7private71 the contents of    
which appeared to me more odd than      
pleasant4 ,i have since heard1 however1 
that the writer1 ,don ,jose ,arnaiz1 is 
an old man1 and a sort of privileged    
character1 who interferes in every      
thing1 whether it concerns him or not4  
,i translate it for your benefit3  ,the 
dress of a ,poblana is that of a woman  
of no character4 ,the lady of the       
,spanish minister is a lady in every    

sense of the word4 ,however much she may
 have compromised herself1 she ought    
neither to go as a ,poblana1 nor in any 
other character but her own4 ,so says to
 the ,senor de ,c----n1 ,jose ,arnaiz1  
who esteems him as much as possible4    
,if priests were angels1 the town would 
be rightly named1 for it is a city of   
priests and religious men who have      
consecrated their lives to begging1 and 
count it a merit with ,god to live on   
charity4 ,convents of male and female   
religious abound1 and1 as the books tell
 us1 #dj1jjj1jjj1 in the form of        
mortgages upon the fairest lands of the 
,vega of ,puebla1 is consecrated to     
their support1 under the supervision of 
the bishop4 ,that smoking mountain1 that
 outlet to infernal fires1 is so lose at
 hand as to suggest the idea that this  
whole mass of impurity and moral        
rottenness may have been vomited up from
 the bottomless pit1 or that the fallen 
angels1 in their way thitherward1       
tarried here to found a sacred city1 see

 its ,cathedral finished1 and then led  
the way down the inclined plane to that 
brimstone convent where friars most do  
congregate4   ,,marianna ,,in ,,bronze4 
,in this city of dirty houses and dirty 
faces there is1 nevertheless1 some      
public spirit4 ,since ,i was last here a
 bronze equestrian statue has been set  
up in the ,grand ,plaza4 ,it is a bronze
 woman1 sitting quietly and easily upon 
a furious bronze horse4 ,the horse is in
 a terrible state of excitement1 but the
 woman is not alarmed in the least2 for 
she seems to be well aware that it is   
only make-believe passion1 badly        
executed in bronze4 ,who could this     
woman be but ,malinche1 or ,marianna1   
the ,indian mistress of ,cortez--a fit  
patroness of the women of ,puebla4 ,she 
was the first convert that ,cortez ever 
made to ,christianity2 and her sort of  
,christianity is not unusual in ,mexico4
 ,that beautiful cone that rises so     
majestically out of the plain between   
,puebla and ,tlascala bears the name of 

,malinche2 but as this name was applied 
to her paramour as well as to herself1  
an additional testimonial1 in the form  
of a bronze statue1 was deemed          
requisite2 for she is considered here as
 almost a saint1 and would be altogether
 such if she had not been the mother of 
children1 and ended her career by       
getting married4 ,that act of getting   
married--not her former life--rendered  
her unfit for a saint2 for how could an 
honest housewife be a saint8 ,she might 
have been the best of mothers and the   
best of wives1 and have performed       
scrupulously the duties that ,god had   
assigned to her upon earth2 but she was 
lacking in romance1 in those aerial     
materials from which saints are made4   
,saints are made in damp1 cold          
prison-cells1 where1 in the midst of    
self-inflicted misery1 they see visions1
 dream dreams1 and perform cures upon   
crowds as deluded as themselves4  ,it   
was a delightful afternoon when ,i      
mounted my horse for a ride to ,cholula4

 ,the wind of the day before had driven 
away every vapor from this exceedingly  
transparent atmosphere1 excepting only  
the cloud that was resting upon         
,popocatapetl1 a little below its       
snow-covered summit4 ,it was such       
weather as we have at harvest home1 and 
it was truly a harvest home throughout  
the whole ,vega4 ,men were working in   
gangs in the different fields1 gathering
 stalks1 or husking corn1 or cutting    
grain1 or plowing with a dozen plows in 
company1 or harrowing1 or putting in    
seed4 ,it was harvest-time and seed-time
 together4 ,the full green blade and the
 ripened grain stood in adjoining fields
 in this region of perpetual sunshine4  
,as ,i rode along between carefully     
cultivated estates1 ,i did not fail to  
catch the enthusiasm which groups of    
cheerful field-laborers always inspire  
in one whose happiest recollections run 
back to the labors of the farm4 ,such   
are the varieties this country affords3 
three days ago ,i was enjoying the most 

delicate tropical fruits1 which ,i      
plucked fresh from the trees2 yesterday 
,i was traversing a salt desert covered 
with clouds of drifting sand2 and ,i was
 now among grain-farms of a cold        
climate4   ,,pyramid ,,of ,,cholula4    
,right before me1 as ,i rode along1 was 
a mass of trees1 of ever-green foliage1 
presenting indistinctly the outline of a
 pyramid1 which ran up to the height of 
about two hundred feet1 and was crowned 
by an old stone church1 and surmounted  
by a tall steeple4 ,it was the most     
attractive object in the plain2 it had  
such a look of uncultivated nature in   
the midst of grain-fields4 ,it would    
have lost half its attractiveness had it
 been the stiff and clumsy thing which  
the pictures represent it to be4 ,i had 
admired it in pictures from my childhood
 for what it was not2 but ,i now admired
 it for what it really was--the finest  
,indian mound on this continent2 where  
the ,indians buried the bravest of their
 braves1 with bows and arrows1 and a    

drinking cup1 that they might not be    
unprovided for when they should arrive  
at the hunting-grounds of the ,great    
,spirit4 ,a little digging1 a few years 
ago1#aa has furnished the evidence on   
which ,i base this assertion4 ,this     
digging has destroyed the old monkish   
fiction to reinstate the truly ,indian  
idea of the dead1 and of the necessity  
of mounds for their burial4  ,by going  
round to the north side1 ,i obtained a  
fine view of the modern improvements    
which have been constructed upon this   
,indian mound4 ,i rode up a paved       
carriage-way into the church-yard that  
now occupies the top1 and giving my     
horse to a squalid ,indian imp who came 
out of the vestry1 ,i went in and took a
 survey of the tawdry images through    
which ,god is now worshiped by the      
baptized descendants of the builders of 
this mound4 ,my curiosity was soon      
gratified1 and ,i returned to my place  
in the saddle4  ,illustration3 ,,pyramid
 ,,of ,,cholula4  ,i followed the wall  

around the church-yard1 stopping from   
point to point to look upon the vast map
 spread around on every side4 ,orizaba1 
which ,i first saw when #aej miles out  
at sea as a mammoth sugar-loaf sitting  
upon a cloud1 had at ,jalapa1 and at the
 eye of waters1 different forms1 while  
here it appeared to be joined with the  
,perote1 forming the limit of the       
horizon toward the east4 ,on the west   
were ,popocatapetl1 ,iztaccihuatl1 and  
,malinche2 while smaller mountains and  
hills seemed to complete the line of    
circumvallation1 which gave to the      
elevated plain of ,puebla the aspect of 
the bed of an exhausted lake1 and to the
 isolated hills1 rising here and there  
upon its surface1 the appearance of     
having been islands when the waters     
covered the face of the land4  ,the     
cloud was still resting upon            
,popocatapetl2 but its crest1 far above 
the clouds1 was in that region where1 in
 the tropics1 ice and snow lie          
undisturbed forever4 ,the marks which it

 bore of having once been the smoke-pipe
 of one of ,nature's furnaces1 furnished
 us with the translation of its         
name--,the mountain with a smoking      
mouth4 ,but that lake of fire has long  
since ceased to burn1 and when the      
mountain had last emitted smoke was     
unknown to the oldest inhabitant4 ,and  
that other mountain1 ,iztaccihuatl1 or  
the ,white ,woman1 lying so quietly and 
snug1 in her covering of perpetual snow1
 at the side of the volcano1 called up  
in the minds of the ,indians the strange
 conceit of man and wife4 ,there were   
forests on the mountain sides and trees 
along the rivers covered with green1 but
 all else looked dry and parched4       
,seldom1 indeed1 has the eye of man ever
 rested on a finer farming country than 
the great plain of ,puebla1 and seldom  
are lands seen better cultivated4       
,,cholula4  ,cholula was of old sacred  
to ,quetzalcoatl1 the ,god of the ,air1 
who1 during his abode upon earth1 taught
 mankind the use of metals1 the practice

 of agriculture1 and the arts of        
government4 ,translating myth into      
history1 we may call him the great      
,aztec reformer4 ,he is represented as a
 man of fair complexion with curling    
hair and flowing beard1 very different  
from the type of the ,aztecs4 ,on his   
way from ,mexico to the coast he        
remained for a while at ,cholula1 where 
a mound and temple was raised to his    
honor4  ,this tradition made ,cholula   
the ,mecca of the ,indian world2 and    
with the merchants who came to attend   
the annual fair held at the base of the 
mound came also hosts of pilgrims1 to   
offer sacrifice to the memory of that   
god who introduced flowers into the     
native worship1 and discouraged         
cruelties and human sacrifices4  ,at    
,cholula ,i was so fortunate as to      
procure one of the images of            
,quetzalcoatl1 cut in stone1 with curled
 hair and ,caucasian features4 ,i       
afterward verified the same by          
comparison with the great image found at

 ,mexico1 not without strong suspicions 
that both were counterfeits2 for in this
 country even the most sacred records   
are open to suspicion4 ,popular         
tradition and the most approved authors 
will have it1 that some stray white man 
had found his way among the ,mexicans1  
and taught them empirically the         
calculations and divisions of time1 and 
a very few of the arts of civilized life
 unknown to our ,indians1 and they      
venerated him as a god4 ,but the        
probabilities are that the whole story  
is a myth1 and for once the ,inquisition
 was right in suppressing speculation in
 relation to him1 whether he was ,saint 
,thomas or not4  ,at the base of this   
pyramid1 three hundred years ago1       
flourished the rich and opulent city of 
,cholula1 which1 according to           
,cortez1#ab contained #dj1jjj houses4   
,he says that he counted from this spot 
#djj mosques1#ac and #djj towers of     
other mosques--that the exterior of this
 city is more beautiful than any in     

,spain4 ,that is1 as he and all other   
historians of the ,conquest agree in    
representing it1 it was at the same time
 not only the ,mecca and the commercial 
centre1 but the centre of learning and  
refinement of ,mexico4 ,here ,indian    
philosophers met upon a common footing  
with ,indian merchants4 ,its government1
 too1 was republican2 and upon these    
very plains1 three hundred years ago and
 more1 flourished two powerful          
republics1 ,tlascala and ,cholula4 ,the 
first was the ,lacedaemon1 the second   
the ,athens of the ,indian world1 and   
when united they had successfully       
resisted the armies of ,montezuma and   
his ,aztecs4 ,but ,aztec intrigue was   
too powerful for the ,american ,athens1 
and the polished city of ,cholula having
 been subdued by the same arts by which 
,philip of ,macedon had won the         
sovereignty of ,athens--a combination of
 intrigue and of arms--,tlascala was    
left alone to resist the whole force of 
the ,aztec empire1 now aided by the     

faithless ,cholulans4 ,yet ,tlascala was
 undismayed by the new combination      
brought to bear against her1 and did not
 readily listen to the proposed alliance
 of ,cortez4 ,it was only after three   
terrible battles with ,cortez1 that     
,tlascala learned to appreciate the     
value of his alliance--an alliance which
 has conferred upon her perpetual       
freedom and a distinct political        
organization to the present time4  ,this
 is the poetry of the thing4 ,let us    
give it a little matter-of-fact         
examination4  ,the spot on which ,i     
stand1 instead of being what it has     
often been represented to be1 is but a  
shapeless mass of earth #bje feet high1 
occupying a village square of #acaj     
feet4 ,it is sufficiently wasted by time
 to give full scope to the imagination  
to fill out or restore it to almost any 
form4 ,one hundred years ago1 some rich 
citizen constructed steps up its side1  
and protected the sides of his steps    
from falling earth by walls of adobe1 or

 mud-brick2 and on the west side some   
adobe buttresses have been placed to    
keep the loose earth out of the village 
street4 ,this is all of man's labor that
 is visible1 except the work of the     
,indians in shaving away the hill which 
constitutes this pyramid4 ,as for the   
great city of ,cholula1 it never had an 
existence2 for if there had been1 only  
three hundred years ago1 such a city    
here1 composed of #dj1jjj houses1 with  
#djj towers1 besides the #djj mosques1  
then some vestige or fragment of a      
fallen wall or a ruined tower would     
still be visible4 ,but ,i searched in   
vain for the slightest evidence of      
former magnificence1 and was driven to  
the unwelcome conclusion that the whole 
city was fabricated out of some         
miserable ,indian village1 inferior1    
perhaps1 to the present town of         
one-story1 whitewashed mud huts4  ,my   
contemplations were broken in upon by a 
swarm of squalid women and children from
 the church vestry1 importuning me to   

buy relics in clay1 which might answer  
the double purpose of images of saints  
or of heathen gods1 according to the    
taste of the purchaser4 ,but when they  
found me impracticable1 they brought out
 their greatest curiosity--a flint      
arrow-head1 such as used to be plowed up
 in scores near the place where ,i was  
born4 ,thoroughly disgusted with the    
sight of this ,acropolis1 with this     
ancient ,athens of mud1 ,i turned my    
horse's head toward ,puebla2 and as ,i  
rode on1 ,i met scores of these modern  
,athenians trotting homeward1           
bare-headed and bare-footed1 carrying   
papooses on their backs1 while their    
faces1 forms1 and hair1 and ragged      
dress1 were the very counterpart of the 
,indians of ,north ,america4  ,the      
,indians of ,puebla have long enjoyed   
the distinguished honor of being the    
governing men1 while the white          
inhabitants were ineligible to a seat in
 the city councils4 ,this city was      
formerly an ,indian village1 bearing the

 indigestible name of ,cuetlaxcapen1 or 
,snake in the ,water2 but1 in #aecj1 the
 ,vice-,king ,mendoza established here a
 ,spanish colony1 but left the original 
government unchanged2 so that1 down to  
the independence1 the city              
administration was conducted by an      
,indian alcalde1 assisted by a council  
of four ,indians4 ,notwithstanding the  
anomalous form of its government1       
,puebla has ever been a great           
manufacturing town1 and at this day     
consumes a quantity of cotton equal to  
some of our large manufacturing cities4 
#aa ,the living witnesses of the result 
of this excavation are       still at   
,cholula1 and the fact is mentioned in  
several ,american       works2 my       
inference from the fact is the only     
novelty in the       matter4        #ab 
,cortez's ,letters1 ,folsom's           
translation1 p4 #ga4        #ac ,this   
word mosques ,cortez constantly makes   
use of1 apparently       to keep before 
the people of ,spain the idea that he   

,was       conducting a holy war4       
,,chapter ,,ix4  ,a ,ride to            
,popocatapetl4--,the ,village of        
,atlizco4--,the old ,man of ,atlizco and
 the ,inquisition4--,a novel ,mode of   
,escape4--,an avenging ,ghost4--,the    
,vice-,king ,ravillagigedo4--,the ,court
 of the ,vice-,king and the             
,inquisition4--,ascent of               
,popocatapetl4--,how a ,party perished  
by ,night4--,the ,crater and the ,house 
in it4--,descent into the ,crater4--,the
 ,interior4--,the ,workmen in the       
,volcano4--,the ,view from              
,popocatapetl4--,the first ,white that  
climbed ,popocatapetl4--,the ,story of  
,corchado4--,corchado converts the      
,volcano into a ,sulphur-mine4   ,one of
 the first objects of interest in       
,mexico is the volcano of ,popocatapetl4
 ,a stage runs from ,puebla to ,atlizco1
 but beyond that village the visitor    
must travel upon horseback4 ,atlizco is 
worthy of a special notice from its     
situation in a most fertile valley1 and 

its peculiar location at the base of a  
conical hill4 ,this hill1 like every    
attractive locality in ,mexico1 is the  
scene of romantic traditions of the     
common people4 ,from many1 ,i select one
 illustration of the state of society in
 the times of the vice-kings4  ,there   
once was1 the tradition runs in this    
village1 an old hidalgo who possessed a 
plantation in the immediate neighborhood
 of the town4 ,his family consisted of  
himself and two daughters2 and he was   
rich4 ,upon a certain time1 one of those
 strolling monks1 with whom the country 
abounds1 chanced to offer an indignity  
to one of the daughters1 and the old man
 chanced to return the indignity by     
inflicting upon the monk such a beating 
as never poor friar had yet received in 
the vice-kingdom--such a one as the     
feelings of an outraged father alone    
could justify4 ,this was not the end of 
the matter2 it was only the beginning of
 evil to the old man1 as he well knew1  
for he had laid his hands upon one of   

the consecrated--one who had received   
the sacrament of ,holy ,orders2 and1    
above all1 he was rich enough to tempt  
the cupidity of the ,inquisition1 which 
always watched with jealous care over   
the orthodoxy of those whose estates1   
when confiscated1 would add to the      
greater glory of ,god1 that is1 to the  
treasury of the ,holy ,office4  ,guilty 
or not guilty1 the old man had but one  
mode of escape1 and that was by avoiding
 an arrest4 ,to effect this object he   
resorted to a novel expedient4 ,as soon 
as he heard that his accuser had started
 for ,mexico1 it was given out that the 
old man had suddenly died4 ,a           
circumstance by no means thought        
remarkable1 when it became known that he
 had assaulted a priest4 ,as he had not 
yet been accused1 his neighbors ventured
 to come to his funeral2 and a coffin1  
with his name and age marked upon it1   
was decently buried in holy ground4 ,the
 funeral fees1 too1 were secured before 
the estate was pounced upon by the      

familiars of the ,inquisition4 ,the     
daughters put on the deepest mourning1  
and hid themselves from the public gaze1
 among their relatives2 for they had not
 only to endure the loss of home and    
estates1 but were to be shunned as the  
accursed of ,god--the children of one   
dying while under the accusation of     
sacrilege4 ,as for the ,inquisition1 its
 officials did not care to investigate  
the question of the decease1 for it had 
reaped all the benefit it might hope for
 from his conviction--,the ,holy ,office
 had become his heir4   ,,the ,,old     
,,man ,,of ,,atlizco4  ,strange         
appearances and stranger noises after a 
time were heard about the cave that is  
said to be in the top of the hill of    
,atlizco1 and sometimes a ghost had been
 seen wandering about the hill by       
certain benighted villagers2 and one    
time1 when the accusing monk was        
returning rather later than usual from a
 drunken revel1 this ghost who had now  
become the town-talk1 chanced to fall in

 with him1 and to give him such a       
beating as few living men could inflict1
 and then disappeared4 ,still there was 
no earthquake1 and the sun rose and set 
as though no injury had been done to a  
priest4  ,time wore its slow course     
along1 without any important incident   
occurring in this matter1 until the     
reputation of the new ,virey1           
,ravillagigedo1 reached ,atlizco4       
,shortly thereafter there appeared at   
the vice-royal palace in the city of    
,mexico an old man1 who related in a    
private audience the story of his griefs
 and of his misfortunes1 and insisted   
that1 in striking the ,lord's priest1 he
 had no intention of committing an act  
of impiety1 but that the feelings of a  
father had overcome him in an unguarded 
moment1 and induced him to avenge an    
attempt made to dishonor his daughter4  
,the story of the old man touched the   
,virey1 who had a manly heart wrapped up
 in a forbidding exterior4 ,but it was a
 delicate undertaking even for a        

vice-king to attempt to wrest a rich    
estate out of the clutches of the ,holy 
,office without himself being suspected 
of heresy1 or of disloyalty to the      
,church4 ,yet ,ravillagigedo was never  
at a loss for expedients when justice   
was to be done or the oppressed         
relieved4 ,the best advice1 however1    
that he could give the old man was to   
hide himself again1 and to send his     
daughters to ,mexico to accuse the monk4
  ,upon a set day1 the vice-king was    
found arrayed in state1 surrounded by a 
council of ,inquisitors1 before whom the
 daughters1 in the deepest mourning1    
presented themselves as the accusers of 
the profligate monk4 ,they stated1 with 
an artless simplicity which could not   
fail to convince1 the story of the      
wrongs the monk had done them4 ,the     
,inquisitors1 sitting in the presence of
 the incorruptible ,virey1 could not1   
for very shame1 do otherwise than       
declare unanimously that the monk1 and  
not the old man1 was worthy of the      

censure of the ,church4  ,then let us   
wipe away the stain that rests upon the 
fair fame of these ladies as daughters  
of one dying suspected1 by decreeing    
their father's innocence1 said the      
,virey4  ,this being assented to1 the   
record of the old man's innocence was   
made up1 and1 when duly attested by the 
,inquisitors1 was handed to the         
daughters4 ,a door was at this moment   
opened1 and there entered into the      
august presence a gray-headed old man1  
to whom the daughters presented the     
record4 ,the old man1 when he had       
received the record1 advanced1 and1     
bowing humbly1 made confession of his   
fault4 ,it was a bitter pill for the    
,holy ,office thus to be tricked into   
the performance of a common act of      
justice1 and in this way to lose a      
valuable estate4 ,from this time onward1
 it is said that ,inquisitors were never
 known to hold court with a ,virey4     
,,ascent ,,of ,,popocatapetl4  ,at      
,atlizco horses must be procured for the

 journey up the mountain1 for beyond    
this point there is no carriage-road4 ,i
 here follow the verbal narrative of    
,mr4 ,frank ,kellott1 the artist of whom
 ,i have already made mention1 as ,i    
dared not venture where bleeding of the 
lungs is produced by the rarity of the  
atmosphere and by the fatigue4  ,the    
company consisted of ,mr4 ,corchado1 the
 proprietor1 ,mr4 ,munez1 a neighboring 
gentleman1 three ladies1 and myself1 all
 on horseback4 ,sixteen ,indians had    
been sent forward on foot early in the  
morning1 with all the conveniences to   
make the trip a safe and agreeable one4 
,the party went cheerfully up the       
mule-road that leads to the mountain    
rancho of ,zacopalco1 one of the highest
 inhabited points upon our globe4 ,the  
soil upon the mountain1 composed of     
volcanic mud1 yields such rich grasses1 
that almost at the upper edge of the    
timber there is a milk-house 7lecheria71
 where a cattleherd1 if caught out at   
night1 may find a shelter4 ,the inner   

man being well cared1 for at the rancho1
 we journeyed on1 following the path    
that led us through a tangled mass of   
trees and plants1 and among barrancas   
whose sides were covered with pines4    
,the timber grew shorter and more       
stunted as we proceeded1 until1 at the  
height of #ab1edd feet1 the pines       
entirely disappeared4 ,a little farther 
on1 at an elevation of #ab1fib feet1 we 
were at the limit of vegetation4 ,after 
journeying a league or so over the      
yielding sand mixed with sharp stones1  
twelve of our ,indians and our horses   
gave out4 ,from this point for a little 
way farther1 our party proceeded on     
foot1 with the four remaining servants4 
,we had gone only a little way farther  
when two of our fair companions also    
gave out1 and we sent them back to the  
rancho with the returning horses and the
 fatigued servants1 for there was now no
 time for delay1 if we intended to reach
 the summit that day4 ,the third lady   
went bravely on1 and would probably have

 enjoyed the honor of being the first   
woman that had ever ascended            
,popocatapetl1 had it not been for the  
unfortunate arrangement she had made in 
her wardrobe4 ,instead of putting on the
 pantaloons1 or bloomers1 she had added 
extra skirts by way of precaution       
against the cold2 so that when she had  
climbed about #cjjj feet over volcanic  
sand and loose stones1 she gave out from
 fatigue and the bruises she had        
received in her numerous falls4 ,it was 
a painful effort even for those of us   
who had no skirts to impede us to get   
on2 and it was imprudent for her to     
proceed farther1 for the icicles would  
be in her way as much as the sand and   
stones2 for these icicles were like     
spikes projecting upward from the rocks1
 and between which we should have to    
place our feet and pick our way as best 
we could without falling upon them4 ,in 
this state of things there was no       
alternative1 and we were reluctantly    
obliged to dissuade her from farther    

effort1 and to consign her over to the  
kind attentions of three more of our    
,indians1 who had given out1 to conduct 
her down the mountain4  ,unfortunately1 
one of the last three ,indians sent back
 had in his pocket all the chocolate1 an
 article almost indispensable to the    
comfort of a party climbing a high      
mountain1 and1 unconscious of our loss1 
we continued our way until it was too   
late to remedy this loss4 ,the basaltic 
rock which we had now reached was       
covered with the icicles which ,i have  
described1 and we found no little       
difficulty in placing our feet between  
them1 and guiding ourselves with the    
iron-pointed sticks which had been      
furnished us2 while the dizziness caused
 by looking back upon the world we had  
left behind added to our troubles4  ,mr4
 ,corchado1 to draw off our attention   
from our own hardships1 related to us   
the story of the death of six of his    
workmen1 who undertook to make the      
journey down the mountain by night4     

,each of them had a load of stolen      
brimstone on his head4 ,the day after   
this rash and criminal attempt1 their   
dead bodies were found in such a        
situation as to indicate plainly the    
manner of their death4 ,stiffened with  
the intense cold1 and impeded by their  
heavy burdens1 they had stumbled in the 
darkness1 and had fallen upon the sharp 
ice4 ,one had his cheek pierced1 and the
 others had divers wounds and bruises   
marked upon them as they lay frozen in  
death4 ,the story of these unfortunates 
was not calculated to inspire us with   
very pleasant reflections1 in case the  
weather should change while we were on  
the mountain4   ,a ,,night ,,upon ,,the 
,,summit4  ,we climbed on1 having       
reached the basaltic rock at an         
elevation of #af1hje feet1 and with     
exhausting labor we traveled upon it    
until toward evening1 when we came to   
that immense yawning abyss1 the crater4 
,the mouth was about three miles in     
circumference1 of a very irregular form4

 ,into this we entered1 and soon arrived
 at the house which was to be our       
lodging for the night4 ,this house was a
 curiosity in its way2 as it was not    
built like any other house1 and could   
not be1 on account of the rarity of the 
atmosphere at this elevation of #ag1abe 
feet1 and the impossibility of obtaining
 sufficient oxygen1 in a closed room1 to
 feed combustion4 ,it was therefore     
built in the form of a miniature        
volcano4 ,there was an outside and an   
inside wall1 of a circular form1 the    
outside wall sloping inwardly1 and the  
inside wall1 which rested on pillars1   
sloping outwardly1 until it met the     
outside wall4 ,the fire was built in the
 open court1 in the centre of the       
building1 and the party sat under the   
arches and warmed themselves4 ,the night
 that we were there1 the perverse smoke 
took the same direction as the heated   
air1 and filled the whole inside to     
suffocation1 so that our condition was  
most disagreeable1 notwithstanding the  

arrangements that ,mr4 ,corchado had    
made in his own apartment for the       
comfort of his guests1 for the          
reflection of the sun on the snow had   
thrown a film over our eyes1 in spite of
 our green vails4 ,our stomachs were    
nauseated at this giddy height1 and1    
though we had almost every other kind of
 eatable and drinkable1 our appetites   
craved only chocolate1 which we could   
not obtain4 ,our heads were dizzy1 and  
our limbs were weary1 and we lay down in
 a dense smoke to try to sleep4         
,,descent ,,into ,,the ,,crater4        
,morning came to our relief1 and with it
 the film had passed from our eyes4 ,we 
looked up to the top of the mountain    
above us1 and then down into that       
fearful abyss into which we were soon to
 descend4 ,we could eat no breakfast1   
and could drink no coffee1 and so we    
were soon ready for our day's journey4  
,we followed a narrow footpath until we 
reached a shelf1 where we were seated in
 a skid1 and let down by a windlass #ejj

 feet or so1 to a landing-place1 from   
which we clambered downward to a second 
windlass and a second skid1 which was   
the most fearful of all1 because we were
 dangling about without any thing to    
steady ourselves1 as we descended before
 the mouth of one of those yawning      
caverns1 which are called the           
'breathing-holes' of the crater4 ,they  
are so called from the fresh air and    
horrid sounds that continually issue    
from them4 ,but we shut our eyes and    
clung fast to the rope1 as we whirled   
round and round in mid air1 until we    
reached another landing-place about #ejj
 feet lower4 ,from this point we        
clambered down1 as best we could1 until 
we came among the men digging up        
cinders1 from which sulphur1 in the form
 of brimstone1 is made4  ,we took no    
measurements within the crater1 and     
heights and distances here can only be  
given by approximation4 ,we only know   
that all things are on a scale so vast  
that old ,pluto might here have forged  

new thunder-bolts1 and ,milton's ,satan 
might have here found the material for  
his sulphurous bed4 ,all was strange1   
and wild1 and frightful4  ,we crawled   
into several of the 'breathing holes1'  
but nothing was there except darkness   
visible4 ,the sides and bottom were1 for
 the most part1 polished by the molten  
mass1 which had cooled in passing       
through them2 and if it had not been for
 the ropes around our waist1 we should  
have slipped and fallen we knew not     
whither4 ,we almost fancied that1 in the
 moving currents of air1 we heard the   
wailings of the lost in the great       
sulphurous lake below4 ,the stones we   
threw in were lost to sound unless they 
hit upon a projecting rock1 and fell    
from shelf to shelf4 ,the deep darkness 
was fearful to contemplate4 ,the abyss  
looked as though it might be the mouth  
of the bottomless pit4 ,what must have  
been the effect when each one of these  
'breathing holes' was vomiting liquid   
fire and sulphur into the basin in which

 we stood8 ,how immeasurable must be    
that lake whose overflowings fill such  
cavities as this6 ,it is when standing  
in such a place that we get the full    
force of the figures used by the        
,scriptures in illustrating the         
condition of the souls that have        
perished forever4  ,let us turn from    
great to smaller things--to witness the 
labors of the men who work1 and eat1 and
 often sleep in the volcano4 ,some are  
digging sulphur and placing it in       
baskets1 while others are waiting to    
carry it upon their heads up the side of
 the crater4 ,others1 again1 out of our 
sight far up the mountain1 are working  
at the oven1 when the weather is clear1 
and there is no cloud between them and  
the sun1 as it is only in the finest    
weather that men can work upon the top1 
or carry burdens to the hacienda4 ,when 
the weather is fine1 all the works are  
in full operation1 and good profits are 
realized by furnishing brimstone for the
 manufacture of sulphuric acid4  ,we are

 at the top once more2 and now that our 
eyesight1 which we lost in climbing the 
mountain1 is restored to us1 we will    
take a view of the lower world4 ,looking
 toward the west1 every object glows in 
the brightness of the rising sun1 except
 where the mountain casts its vast      
shadow even across the valley of        
,toluca4 ,how strangely diminished now  
are all familiar objects that are       
visible6 ,the pureness of the medium    
through which things are seen presents  
distant objects with great distinctness1
 but it will not present them in their  
natural size1 for it can not change the 
angle of vision4 ,the villages upon the 
table-land were apparently pigmy        
villages1 inhabited by pigmy men and    
pigmy women1 surrounded with pigmy      
cattle1 and garrisoned by pigmy         
soldiery4 ,it is1 by an optical         
illusion1 ,liliput in real life4 ,had   
the ,english satirist placed himself    
where we now stood1 he would have more  
than realized the picture which his     

fancy painted4 ,he might have seen the  
marshaled hosts of ,liliput marching to 
the beat of drum1 in the proud array of 
war4  ,if you wish to see all the       
sights1 you must walk around the        
mountain1 and look down its steepest    
side1 where there is no table-land1 into
 the 'hot country4' ,the distance is so 
vast1 the descent so steep1 that an     
inexperienced climber suffers from      
dizziness4 ,if you climb to the very    
summit1 #bej feet above the mouth of the
 crater1 you will find more surface     
about you4 ,but it is a point where few 
can desire to remain long1 or to visit  
it a second time4   ,,the ,,sulphur     
,,mine4  ,in ,cortez's letters to the   
,emperor we read as follows3 ,as for    
sulphur1 ,i have already made mention to
 your ,majesty of a mountain in this    
province from which1 smoke issues2 out  
of it sulphur has been taken by a       
,spaniard1 who descended seventy or     
eighty fathoms by means of a rope       
attached to his body below his arms2    

from which source we have been enabled  
to obtain sufficient supplies1 although 
it is attended with danger4 ,it is hoped
 that it will not be necessary for us to
 resort again to this means of procuring
 it4 444 ,as the ,indians told us that  
it was dangerous to ascend1 and fatal to
 those who made the attempt1 ,i caused  
several ,spaniards to undertake it1 and 
examine the character of the summit4 ,at
 the time they went up1 so much smoke   
proceeded from it1 accompanied by       
noises1 that they were either unable or 
afraid to reach its mouth4 ,afterward ,i
 sent up some other ,spaniards1 who made
 two attempts1 and finally reached the  
aperture of the mountain whence the     
smoke issued1 which was two bow-shots   
wide1 and about three fourths of a      
league in circumference1 where they     
discovered some sulphur which the smoke 
deposited4#ad 7,bernal ,diaz says that  
the crater was perfectly round1 a mile  
in diameter4--,vol4 i4 p4 #ahf47 ,during
 one of their visits they heard a       

tremendous noise1 followed by smoke1    
when they made haste to descend2 but    
before they reached the middle of the   
mountain there fell around them a heavy 
shower of stones1 from which they were  
in no little danger4  ,in or about the  
year #ahej1 ,corchado1 an active and    
enterprising white man1 had become a    
favorite with the ,indians at the foot  
of the mountain1 who proposed to him    
that he should accompany them when they 
again undertook one of their expeditions
 into the volcano1 which of late had    
been very frequent4 ,this was a         
proposition that exactly accorded with  
his adventurous character4 ,accordingly1
 on an appointed day1 he appeared at the
 rendezvous1 with a rope1 a piece of    
sail-cloth1 and an iron bar4 ,thus      
provided1 the party1 which was a large  
one1 started up the mountain1 but one by
 one they gave out1 until only ,corchado
 and a single ,indian arrived at the    
mouth of the crater4 ,here1             
unfortunately1 ,corchado fainted from   

the loss of blood and fatigue2 and the  
,indian1 not knowing what better to do1 
covered him with the sail-cloth1 and    
then started down the mountain for      
assistance4 ,in a short time he revived 
under the sail-cloth1 and from his      
dangerous position he drew himself into 
the volcano1 that he might not perish   
from cold outside4 ,he descended as far 
as the shelf1 and1 looking over into the
 abyss1 he found himself so refreshed by
 the atmosphere of the volcano that he  
brought down the bar1 sail-cloth1 and   
rope1 determining to pass the           
approaching night at the bottom of the  
volcano4 ,when he had fixed his bar and 
rope1 the relieving party arrived1 and  
all descended1 one by one1 upon the rope
 to a point where they passed the night 
in safety4  ,corchado1 on his return1   
gathered up some of the scoria and      
carried it to ,puebla1 when it was found
 to contain so large a percentage of    
sulphur as to warrant its 'denouncement'
 as a sulphur-mine4 ,capital was        

procured at ,puebla sufficient to set up
 the rude apparatus we have already     
described1 by means of which a very     
handsome profit on the adventure was    
realized4 ,but1 owing to a lawsuit1 in  
which the affair was at that time       
7#aheb7 involved1 no effort had yet been
 made to pierce the mountain1 or to     
explore a passage through some vent or  
fissure4 ,a good path had been made up  
the mountain1 and in the month of ,may  
it was considered quite a safe          
undertaking to visit these              
sulphur-works4        #ad ,this must    
have been the great fissure1 and not the
 crater4 ,i       see no objection to   
this statement2 for in this ,cortez had 
no       motive to falsify1 and it is   
the ordinary appearance of an active    
volcano4     ,,chapter ,x4              
,texas4--,battle of ,madina4--,first    
,introduction of ,americans into        
,texas4--,usurpation of                 
,bustamente4--,texas owed no ,allegiance
 to the ,usurper4--,the good ,faith of  

the ,united ,states in the ,acquisition 
of ,louisiana and ,texas4--,santa ,anna 
pronounces against ,bustamente4--,santa 
,anna in ,texas4--,a ,mexican's         
,denunciation of the ,texan ,war4--,his 
,idea of our ,revolution1--,he complains
 of our grasping ,spirit4--,the right of
 the ,united ,states to occupy unsettled
 ,territory4--,a few more               
,pronunciamientos of ,santa ,anna4--,the
 ,adventures of ,santa ,anna to the     
present ,date4   ,we must resume again  
the narrative of historical events1 in  
order better to set forth the condition 
of the country through which we are     
traveling4  ,texas is a turning-point in
 the history of ,mexico4 ,captain ,don  
,alonzo de ,leon1 in the year #afhi1ae  
by command of the ,vice-,king of ,new   
,spain1 took formal possession of       
,texas1 in the name of ,his ,most       
,catholic ,majesty of ,spain4 ,afterward
 a few military and missionary          
settlements were commenced1 with        
indifferent success1 as the ,indians    

were of a less docile character than    
those of the southern provinces4 ,they  
were ever restive under the yoke of     
spiritual taskmasters1 so that the      
feeble missions and presidios had only a
 sickly existence down to the time of   
the breaking out of the civil wars of   
,mexico4  ,we have already noticed the  
statement that1 in the year #ahai1 a    
,mexican general routed at the ,river   
,madina a party of #cjjj men1 who were  
on their way to join the ,mexican       
insurgents4 ,the above number is        
somewhat improbable2 say there were     
#ejj1 which would be about as many as   
could well be mustered at that early    
period for a filibustering expedition at
 ,new ,orleans4  ,in #ahbj ,moses       
,austin applied to the ,spanish         
authorities1 and obtained from them the 
right to settle a certain number of     
families in ,texas4 ,he died soon after1
 and his son ,stephen obtained a        
confirmation of the grant1 or1 rather1 a
 new grant1 from the authorities        

established at ,mexico under the        
,federal ,constitution of #ahbd4 ,under 
that constitution ,texas was annexed to 
,coahuila1 and1 together with it1 was   
formed into the united state of         
,coahuila and ,texas4 ,from the         
authorities of this state divers other  
,americans obtained grants of land under
 the provisions of the colonization law 
of the ,mexican ,congress of the year   
#ahbd4 ,from this time all things went  
smoothly on1 and the grantees were      
busily engaged in introducing the number
 of families which were stipulated for  
in the said law1 and in the grants made 
under it1 when the ,spanish armada      
landed at ,tampico4   ,,downfall ,,of   
,,bustamente4  ,in consequence of the   
great dangers threatening the country1  
,congress had conferred dictatorial     
powers upon the ,president of the       
,republic1 ,vincente ,guerrero4 ,by     
virtue of his dictatorship1 he had      
invested the ,vice-president of the     
,republic1 ,bustamente1 with the command

 of an army of reserve1 which he        
established at ,jalapa4 ,as soon as the 
,spanish army had capitulated to ,santa 
,anna1 ,bustamente put forth a          
pronunciamiento1 and1 marching to the   
city of ,mexico1 he deposed the         
,president1 whom he afterward caused to 
be cruelly put to death4 ,having now1 by
 means of a successful military         
insurrection1 possessed himself of the  
executive power1 he proceeded by violent
 means to overturn1 one by one1 the     
governments of the individual states4   
,in this war against the states he was  
also successful1 except in the most     
distant one1 that of ,coahuila and      
,texas4  ,texas clearly owed no         
allegiance to the usurper ,bustamente4  
,it was an independent state in all     
respects1 excepting those powers it had 
conceded to the general government by   
adopting the ,federal ,constitution4    
,the subversion of this ,constitution   
reinstated ,texas as an independent     
republic4 ,it owed no farther allegiance

 to ,mexico4 ,texas might at once have  
applied for admission into our ,union1  
or have asked to be annexed to any other
 foreign state1 pleading not only her   
inherent right to do so1 but the        
excessive cruelties that ,bustamente    
inflicted on those state authorities    
that opposed his usurpations4  ,the     
learned and eloquent ,general ,tornel1  
distinguished alike as a statesman and a
 soldier1 from whose popular history we 
have below made a brief extract1 in     
pleading the cause of his country1      
charges bad faith against the ,united   
,states in the acquisition of both      
,louisiana and ,texas1 but in both      
arguments he fails to make out a case4  
,by the treaty of ,san ,ildefonso in    
#ahjj1 ,france acquired an imperfect    
title to ,louisiana2 by the treaty of   
,paris in #ahjc1 she conveyed all her   
title to the ,united ,states4 ,but1     
before the ,united ,states would pay    
over any money on account of the treaty 
of #ahjc1 she required ,spain to confirm

 the treaty of ,san ,ildefonso by       
putting ,france into the actual         
possession of ,louisiana4 ,this being   
done1 and not till it was done1 did the 
,united ,states pay over the #ae1jjj1jjj
 stipulated as the purchase money4 ,the 
dispute with ,spain about boundaries was
 settled by the treaty for the          
acquisition of ,florida1 in #ahai1 which
 established boundaries that were       
confirmed in a subsequent treaty with   
,mexico4 ,thus far1 certainly1 there was
 no breach of faith4  ,on the night of  
,january #c;d1 #ahcb1 the garrison of   
,vera ,cruz pronounced against the      
usurping government of ,bustamente1     
which was then suffering dreadfully from
 the want of funds4 ,a delegation was   
sent the same night to ,santa ,anna1 who
 had been in retirement at his estate of
 ,manga de ,clavo since the murder of   
his friend1 ,president ,guerrero4 ,this 
fourth insurrection was prosecuted with 
varying success for several months1 but 
was finally terminated by the           

capitulation of ,bustamente at ,puebla1 
and the recalling of ,pedraza from      
banishment in the ,united ,states1 to   
serve out the few months that remained  
of his term of office as ,president4    
,in #ahcb ,santa ,anna was elected      
successor to ,pedraza as ,president of  
the ,federal ,republic of ,mexico4      
,texas had now of right the option of   
returning into the family of ,mexican   
,states1 or of maintaining her separate 
existence2 but she was under no         
obligation to return1 for1 the          
confederacy having been once broken up1 
it was optional with the only member    
that had not submitted to the usurper to
 re-enter this unreliable family1 or to 
continue outside4 ,this election was not
 long open2 for1 by the pronunciamiento 
of ,toluca 7#ahce71 the ,federal        
,constitution was again abolished1 and  
,santa ,anna became dictator in fact1 if
 not in name4 ,the clergy were at the   
bottom of this last revolution1 and they
 demanded1 as the price of their        

support1 the extirpation of heresy from 
the territory of the ,republic4 ,this   
meant the indiscriminate slaughter of   
all ,texans4 ,santa ,anna1 who1 in all  
his previous wars1 had never shown a    
disposition to be cruel to the          
vanquished1 was so dazzled with the     
prospects before him as to be willing to
 make the slaughter of the ,alamo and of
 ,fannin's division an offering to a    
priesthood who were plotting for the    
restoration of the ,inquisition4 ,the   
battle of ,san ,jacinto was1 in its     
consequences1 more disastrous to the    
designs of the ecclesiastical party than
 even to ,santa ,anna himself4          
,,mexican ,,view ,,of ,,the             
,,anglo-,,saxons4  ,let me stop in my   
narrative of events to translate a      
,mexican's eloquent denunciation of the 
,anglo-,saxon race4 ,it is from the pen 
of ,general ,tornel1 a most             
uncompromising enemy of that race and of
 its religion4 ,thus he opens his       
account of the ,texan difficulty3  ,in  

order to understand what we to-day      
7#aheb7 are1 and what we to-day value1  
it is indispensable to discover1 and to 
perpetuate the history of one of the    
greatest scandals of the age--all of its
 antecedents1 all of its consequences1  
all that can aid in coming to knowledge 
of this greatest act of injustice of    
which the ,mexican nation has been the  
victim4  ,those who cross the sea change
 their skies1 but not their nature4 ,the
 ,anglo-,saxons abandoned their country 
from physical and moral necessities1 and
 on account of their political and      
religious quarrels4 ,transporting       
themselves to the virgin forests of     
,america1 they brought with them the    
characteristics of ,northmen2 they were 
distinguished for sobriety1             
laboriousness1 and industry2 for ardor  
in their enterprises2 for constancy1 and
 for that spirit of adventure which     
subjugates all by the right of conquest4
 ,they leveled all obstacles by the     
vigor of their arm and the sweat of     

their brow1 and from their successes has
 arisen the hope of acquiring every     
thing by the inspiration of their       
talents and the force of their genius4  
,the ,english1 of whom ,john ,cabot was 
a compatriot1 came by the northern route
 to ,america1 and discovered an immense 
country1 whose rivers are the grandest1 
whose forests appear to be antediluvian1
 whose lakes would be called seas in    
,europe2 with harbors on an extensive   
coast which rival the greatest in the   
world4 ,it has a soil suited to every   
purpose of agriculture4 ,in short1 it   
has facilities for all enterprises1 and 
for raising the material of a productive
 commerce sufficient to establish       
advantageous relations with the ,old    
,world1 and for creating an independent 
society2 for supplying its necessities2 
for making its condition enviable2 for  
rivaling the power1 the influence1 and  
the destinies of its parent country4    
,the country which they discovered they 
found scarcely inhabited1 although here 

and there wandered some tribes without  
social organization1 without government1
 without the power of concentration1    
even to the extent which numbers give to
 savages4 ,they the colonists early     
learned that they could establish their 
dominion without resistance1 and that   
they could extend it as far as they     
could open the country with the ax of   
the active colonist1 who considered     
himself the heir of undiscovered wealth1
 which would result from an inevitable  
destiny4 ,the colonies which were       
established along the coast1 and those  
which were formed in the interior1      
increased1 as increases the gentle rill 
in its onward course by uniting with    
other rills and with rivers1 until1     
becoming one vast torrent1 it           
precipitates itself into the ocean4 ,the
 colonies of ,tyre1 of ,carthage1 or    
,rome were never comparable with the    
,anglo-,american colonies1 who          
appropriated to themselves1 in less than
 a century1 regions more extended than  

the half of ,europe4  ,the observer of  
the providential destiny of the         
,anglo-,saxon race in ,america notices  
that the emancipation of the thirteen   
,american colonies1 which constituted so
 many states and an independent nation1 
instead of being the result of the      
alleged political grievances1 was rather
 the impulsive force of expansion1 which
 encountered insuperable obstacles while
 the states were colonies subordinate to
 a ,european nation4 ,they were retarded
 in their advances by relations and     
compromises with other nations4 ,the    
,anglo-,saxon1 when translated to the   
wilds of ,america1 needed only a        
stopping-place in order to found a      
peculiar and exclusive polity1 which    
should enable him to march ever onward  
in his aggressions and usurping         
institutions4  ,the ,united ,states of  
,america lost no time in making         
themselves powerful2 a nation rich in   
its industry1 enviable in its commerce1 
respectable in its social organization1 

which are so favorable to the           
advancement of the condition of man4    
,when the government had regulated1 with
 great prudence and wisdom1 the interior
 system of the states1 it placed itself 
upon the watch for the compromised      
circumstances of embarrassed ,european  
states that possessed colonies on the   
,american continent4 ,some of these     
colonies were contiguous to the limits  
which the ,united ,states had acquired  
definitely by the treaty of peace of    
#aghc4 ,in order to augment1 at the     
expense of her neighbors1 her           
possessions1 already immense1 and not   
yet well populated1 she set about       
acquiring territory by astuteness1 by   
cunning1 by violence1 and also by       
justifiable means1 when such were       
available4 ,spain first1 and ,mexico    
afterward1 have been her victims2 and   
to-day these rich and powerful states   
display the spoils1 for such they are in
 reality1 which they have wrested from  
us4 ,such are the people that already   

rival those nations of ,europe whose    
territories are the most extensive1 and 
whose commerce is spread over all the   
seas4   ,,weakness ,,of ,,the ,,spanish 
,,title4  ,my limits will not permit me 
to follow ,general ,tornel through his  
statement of the manner in which        
,louisiana1 ,florida1 and ,texas were   
acquired1 and to notice his complaints  
of the injustice committed by the       
,americans in all these acquisitions4   
,he loses sight of the fact that ,spain 
had no title to her possessions in      
,america but that of discovery1 and that
 very doubtful claim had not1 in a      
period of #cjj years1 been strengthened 
by actual settlement4 ,three or four    
dilapidated mud forts1 and as many more 
feeble missions1 constituted the sum    
total of the ,spanish possession of     
,texas2 and settlements scarcely worthy 
of the name in the other northern       
departments constituted all the title   
that ,spain could put forth to those    
countries2 while the right of ,mexico   

was as much weaker1 as ,mexico was a    
weaker power than ,spain1 and morally   
incapable of settling the disputed      
territory4 ,the claim of the ,united    
,states was the necessity for land in   
which to settle her population1 which   
was so rapidly augmenting by foreign    
immigration4 ,once in ten years she     
requires a portion of the wild land     
nominally belonging to ,mexico1 and once
 in ten years she must take it4         
,,santa ,,anna4  ,in #ahcf1 while ,santa
 ,anna was a prisoner in ,texas1        
,bustamente1 then in banishment in      
,europe1 was elected ,president by the  
same party that had chosen ,santa ,anna 
as ,dictator4 ,in #ahch1 the government 
having incurred the hostility of        
,france1 ,vera ,cruz was blockaded for  
several months1 during which time a     
night foray was made into the town by a 
party of ,french sailors1 headed by the 
,prince de ,joinville4 ,on their return1
 they were pursued by ,santa ,anna to   
the ,mole1 where they stopped farther   

pursuit by discharging a cannon1 which  
deprived ,santa ,anna of one of his     
legs1 and effectually wiped out the     
recollections of his unfortunate ,texan 
campaign4 ,in #ahda1 the government     
being no longer able to raise funds at  
two per cent4 a month1 the ,minister of 
,war1 ,valencia1 pronounced against     
,bustamente in the citadel of ,mexico4  
,the result was1 that ,santa ,anna was  
again elevated to supreme power1        
according to the plan of ,tacubaya1 and 
the interpretation he put on that plan4 
,in #ahdc a slight change was made in   
the ,constitution1 but he remained in   
power until #ahde1 when1 having left the
 capital to put down the insurrection of
 ,paredes1 ,congress declared against   
him4 ,herrera was appointed ,president1 
and ,santa ,anna was imprisoned for a   
while in the castle of ,perote1 and     
finally banished from the country4 ,in  
#ahdg he was recalled by the ,federal   
party1 with the consent of ,president   
,polk1 and became the chief support of  

the war1 notwithstanding his totally    
inadequate means for organizing a       
successful defense4 ,when the defense   
could no longer be protracted1 he left  
the city by night1 and retired to the   
,west ,indies1 and afterward to         
,carthagena1 where he remained until he 
was recalled in #aheb1 and again        
restored to supreme authority4  ,we may 
sum up the politico-military life of    
,santa ,anna by saying that he has been 
engaged in eight pronunciamientos4 ,five
 of these have been made by himself2    
three by others1 for his benefit4 ,twice
 he has been chosen ,president by the   
,federal party of the ,federal ,republic
 of ,mexico4 ,three times he has been   
made ,president by the ,central1 or     
,ecclesiastical party4 ,he has been     
twice banished from ,mexico1 and each   
time recalled again and placed at the   
head of affairs4 ,he has twice been     
taken prisoner1 when his captors held   
long consultations upon the propriety of
 putting him to death4 ,he has1 in turn1

 been the candidate of all parties1 and 
has served all parties faithfully in    
turn1 but most faithfully of all he has 
served himself4 ,actively engaged       
through life as a politician and a      
soldier1 he has found time to readjust  
the whole complicated system of ,mexican
 laws1 and1 in a series of volumes of   
autocratic decrees1 he has drawn from   
that chaotic mass a new system of       
jurisprudence1 that will stand as a     
monument of his genius as long as the   
,mexican nation shall continue4         
#ae ,breva ,resena ,historica1 by ,gen4 
,tornel4 ,mexico1 #aheb4       p4 #ace4 
,,chapter ,,xi4  ,from ,puebla to       
,mexico4--,the ,dread of ,robbers4--,the
 ,escort--,tlascala4--,the              
,exaggerations of ,cortez and ,bernal   
,diaz4--,the ,truth about               
,tlascala4--,the ,advantages of         
,tlascala to ,cortez4--,who was ,bernal 
,diaz4--,who wrote his ,history4--,first
 ,view of ,mexico4   ,at early twilight1
 two stage-loads of passengers1 drawn   

rapidly by twelve wild horses through   
the now deserted streets of ,puebla1    
approached the gate that opened out upon
 the road to ,mexico4 ,the rattle of the
 wheels and the clatter of so many hoofs
 had awakened the gatekeeper1 and at our
 approach the ponderous portals that    
inclosed the city by night flew open1   
and away we whirled out into the        
beautiful vega of ,puebla4  ,in times of
 civil disorder1 this is a fine field   
for robbers to ply their vocation in2   
and even now1 when all was quiet1 there 
was no little apprehension of a visit   
from these sovereigns of the road4 ,the 
passengers had noticed my unmistakable  
,anglo-,saxon name1 as it was called at 
the stage-door1 and1 when ,i had taken  
my seat1 an elegant1 long ,colt's       
revolver was passed to me by a passenger
 in full uniform4 ,such is one of the   
advantages that a traveler enjoys who   
belongs to a race of men of acknowledged
 courage--an advantage that enabled we  
to travel alone across the continent    

without encumbering myself with a       
weapon2 for1 where all supposed me fully
 armed1 and skilled in the use of       
weapons by instinct1 ,i found it        
convenient to go unarmed4 ,upon the     
present occasion1 ,i did not wish to    
raise a smile of incredulity by         
protesting that ,i had never fired a    
pistol in my life1 so ,i quietly        
consented to play the part of hero4  ,by
 displaying my weapon carelessly in my  
hand when we stopped to take coffee at  
,saint ,martin's1 ,i procured a seat    
upon the outside1 which had been refused
 me at ,puebla4  ,our escort consisted  
of a body of six lancers1 who1 standing 
at the roadside1 saluted us as we       
passed1 and then rode after us at the   
top of their speed4 ,poor fellows6 they 
found it hard riding to keep up with the
 coach4 ,it was some consolation for    
them to see a man seated on the top of  
the stage with a ,colt's pistol1 even if
 he did not know how to use it1 and for 
once they rode out their beat without   

getting frightened at their shadows4 ,as
 the robbers were as great cowards as   
themselves1 whether the man on the box  
was really a fire-eater or not1 it      
answered the same purpose4 ,these       
stage-guards are heroes in their way2   
they always come when the road appears  
the safest1 and never fail to ask for   
charity1 but invariably leave you just  
as the coach approaches a thicket4 ,a   
few days ago1 this guard caught a fellow
 on the road whom they believed to be a 
robber1 and hung him with a             
pocket-handkerchief4   ,,republic ,,of  
,,tlascala4  ,we are now passing the    
borders of that famous ,indian republic1
 of the high table-land1 which shut out 
despotism by a lofty wall1#af and was so
 completely isolated in the times of    
,montezuma that its people could obtain 
no foreign products1 not even cotton or 
salt2#ag whose food was the maize which 
they cultivated1 and the game which they
 caught upon the snow-capped mountains2 
whose clothing was made from the maguey1

 and from skins of animals taken in the 
chase2 a people whose government was a  
council of elders1 which was presided   
over by an hereditary chief2 whose      
political institutions have been the    
study and admiration of the learned of  
many lands4 ,that is1 in plain ,english1
 they were an ordinary tribe of ,north  
,american savages1 obtaining their      
living1 as other ,indians did then and  
do now1 by the cultivation of ,indian   
corn and hunting1 having the same crude 
form of government that is common to all
 the savage tribes of ,north ,america4  
,they gloried in their savage notions of
 independence1 and submitted only to the
 merest shadow of authority4 ,they had  
not yet reached that point of social    
organization at which the loose         
government of savages gives way to the  
despotism of the next stage of          
advancement1 which we shall call        
barbarism4 ,the difference between the  
,tlascalans and the ,aztecs was the same
 difference that exists between the     

,north ,american savages1 who live in   
underground wigwams1#ah and the         
barbarous tribes of the interior of     
,africa1 that live in cities of mud huts
 above the ground1 and who yield a      
slavish obedience to a half-naked       
emperor1 who sits or squats upon an     
ox-hide in a mud palace1 exercising the 
power of life and death1 according to   
his momentary caprice1 upon thousands of
 trembling slaves4 ,the concentrated    
power and wealth of a whole tribe is in 
single hands1 and is made available for 
conquest and for the sensual enjoyment  
of a single individual4 ,savages can    
only act in concert when all are agreed1
 hence councils are their governing     
power1 and the orator has as much       
influence among them as the successful  
warrior2 but when they have advanced a  
step1 and power has become concentrated1
 the orator becomes silent1 and the     
war-chief is the government4  ,i had    
read with avidity the histories of      
,mexico1 and gave to them implicit      

credence1 until ,i stood upon the       
,indian mound of ,cholula1 and searched 
in vain for the least vestige of that   
magnificent city of #dj1jjj houses1     
which1 only #cjj years ago1 was in the  
height of its prosperity2 and though it 
is not in the power of man1 in the space
 of a thousand years1 wholly to         
obliterate the traces of a great city1  
yet not a vestige of the ,cholula of    
,cortez can now be found4 ,as ,i        
followed up the investigation1 ,i soon  
discovered that not a vestige of any of 
the cities that entered into the        
alliance with ,cortez can now be found4 
,not a vestige exists even of the old   
city of ,mexico1 except the calendar and
 sacrificial stones1 of which ,i shall  
speak hereafter4   ,,cortez ,,and       
,,bernal ,,diaz4  ,cortez says that a   
dry stone wall1 nine feet high1 inclosed
 ,tlascala from mountain to mountain1   
through which he entered between        
overlapping semicircles of the wall4 ,he
 says that he was attacked first by an  

army of #fjjj ,indians1 then by an army 
of #ajj1jjj on one day1 and on the next 
by #adi1jjj4 ,he says farther1 ,i       
attacked another place1 which was so    
large that it contained1 according to an
 examination ,i caused to be made1 more 
than #bj1jjj houses4 ,of the capital of 
,tlascala1 he says1 ,it is larger than  
,granada1 and much stronger1 and        
contains as many fine houses and a much 
larger population than that city did at 
the time of its capture4  ,a comparison 
of the statements of ,bernal ,diaz and  
those of ,cortez will cast some         
discredit upon the narrative of the     
former4 ,the stout old chronicler cuts  
down the #ajj1jjj ,indians in the second
 battle to #ej1jjj1 and makes no mention
 of the third great action1 in which    
#adi1jjj ,indians were said by ,cortez  
to have been engaged4 ,here is another  
comparison3  ,there is1 says ,cortez1 in
 this city ,tlascala1 a market1 in which
 every day #cj1jjj people are engaged in
 buying and selling1 besides many other 

merchants who are scattered about the   
city4 ,the market contains a great      
variety of articles1 both of food and   
clothing1 and all kinds of shoes for the
 feet1 jewels of gold1 and silver1 and  
precious stones1 and ornaments of       
feathers2 all as well arranged as they  
possibly can be found in any public     
square in the world4#ai  ,now see the   
difference between this great           
,munchausen and his professed apologist 
and companion1 the writer of ,bernal    
,diaz1 who was familiar with the        
suppressed manuscript of ,las ,casas1   
and makes quotations from it4 ,the elder
 ,xicotencotl1 says ,bernal ,diaz1 now  
informed ,cortez that it was the general
 wish of the inhabitants to make him a  
present1 if agreeable to him4 ,cortez   
answered that he should at all times be 
most happy to receive one2 they         
accordingly spread some mats on the     
floor1 and over them a few cloaks1 upon 
which they arranged five or six pieces  
of gold1 a few articles of trifling     

value1 and several parcels of           
manufactured nequen--altogether a poor  
present1 and not worth twenty pesos     
7dollars74 ,the caziques1 on presenting 
these things to ,cortez1 said to him1   
',malinche6 we can easily imagine that  
you will not exactly experience much joy
 on receiving a present of such wretched
 things as these2 but we have told you  
before that we are poor--possessing     
neither gold nor other riches1 as the   
deceitful ,mexicans1 with their present 
monarch1 ,montezuma1 have1 by degrees1  
despoiled us of every thing we had4 ,do 
not look to the small value of these    
things1 but accept them in all kindness1
 and as coming from your faithful       
friends and servants4' ,these presents  
were1 at the same time1 accompanied by a
 quantity of provisions4#bj   ,,the     
,,truth ,,about ,,tlascala4  ,thus1     
according to ,cortez1 the ,tlascalans   
dwelt in cities rivaling the most       
polished and commercial cities of       
,europe2 according to ,diaz1 they were  

so poor that they were unable to make a 
present worth twenty dollars6 ,cortez   
gives a view of a large wall of dry     
stone1 about nine feet in height1 which 
extends across the valley from one      
mountain to the other3 it was twenty    
feet in thickness1 surmounted throughout
 its whole extent by a breastwork a foot
 and a half thick1 to enable them to    
fight from the top of the wall4 ,diaz   
says1 ,we came to an enormous           
intrenchment1 built so strongly of      
stone1 lime1 and a kind of hard bitumen1
 that it would only have been possible  
to break it down by means of            
pick-axes4#ba ,such a wall1 or the      
vestiges of it1 would last for thousands
 of years2 for it is not in the         
destructive power of man wholly to      
obliterate it1 and yet ,i have been     
utterly unable to find even a ruin1 and 
,i verily believe the whole of this     
,chinese wall is a fiction4  ,tlascala  
is an ,indian reservation of an oval    
shape1 sixty-nine miles long by         

forty-two miles wide4 ,its climate is   
cold4 ,its soil is not remarkably good4 
,it has had its independent government  
since the time of ,cortez4 ,its means of
 subsistence have been increased1 and   
extensive manufactories have been       
established4 ,the only enumeration ever 
made of its inhabitants was in #agic1   
when it was found to contain #ea1agg    
souls4 ,in the extravagant official     
estimate of last year1 its population is
 set down at #hj1aga4bb ,cortez says    
that ,tlascala contained a population of
 #ejj1jjj inhabitants1 according to a   
report made by his orders4 ,we have here
 our historians within metes and bounds1
 between mountains and stone walls2 a   
perfect non-intercourse established with
 all the world2 all foreign means of    
supply cut off1 and the ,indians        
dependent for subsistence upon their own
 rude cultivation of maize4 ,my readers 
may call me extravagant if ,i should say
 that ,tlascala probably contained about
 #aj1jjj inhabitants in the time of     

,cortez1 and could therefore1 in an     
emergency1 produce #ajjj warriors4 ,a   
greater number than this would be       
contrary to the laws of population4 ,i  
might here stop and call hard names1 but
 it is not my purpose to bring a railing
 accusation against any4 ,my only duty  
is to place evidence before the reader1 
and then let him judge how much reliance
 is to be placed upon any historical    
statements that have been trimmed and   
modified to suit the purposes of the    
,spanish ,inquisition4  ,the quick wit  
of ,cortez early discovered that        
,tlascala was a great natural fortress1 
and that he could make it the centre and
 base of his operations in the wars he  
was contemplating against the different 
,indian tribes of the table-land4 ,the  
hatred borne against the ,mexicans by   
the ,tlascalans assured him of their    
co-operation against ,montezuma4 ,hence 
the ,tlascalans were especially favored4
 ,they shared with him in all the perils
 of his enterprise1 and in the plunder  

gathered from the conquered tribes2 for 
with them rested the question whether he
 should succeed1 and be hailed as the   
hero of a holy war1 or should be branded
 as a buccaneer1 robber1 and enslaver4  
,and when1 in course of time1 the       
,indian element became the ruling power1
 curses loud and deep were muttered     
against the enslaver of the ,indians1   
and the ,tlascalans came in for their   
share of imprecations4   ,,censorship   
,,of ,,historical ,,books4  ,but who was
 ,bernal ,diaz8 ,this would be a strange
 question to ask in a country where     
there was liberty of speech and liberty 
of the press1 but in ,spain the         
censorship was not only repressive1 but 
it was suggestive4 ,it not only         
suppressed the writings of authors1 but 
compelled them to father productions    
that were the very opposite of those    
they wished to publish4 ,take the case  
of poor ,sahagun1 who wrote a refutation
 of the historian of the conquest1 under
 the pretense of giving the ,indian     

account of that event3 when his book was
 finally allowed to see the light1 after
 a delay of many years1 it was found    
that his own account of the conquest had
 been suppressed1 and the regular       
,spanish account had been substituted4  
,of ,las ,casas's ,apology for the      
,indians1#bc which had occupied         
thirty-two years of his life1 that part 
only was allowed to appear which treated
 of ,saint ,domingo4 ,but his refutation
 of the histories of the conquest of    
,mexico is wholly suppressed4 ,to have  
proved the ,conquistadors a gang of     
unprincipled buccaneers would have      
spoiled a ,holy ,war1 which was just    
what the ,inquisition would not allow to
 go before the world4 ,to the little    
work of ,boturini on ,mexico there are  
appended1 #a4 ,the declaration of his   
faith in the ,roman ,catholic ,church in
 the most unequivocal terms4 #b4 ,the   
license of the ,jesuit father4 #c4 ,the 
license of an ,inquisitor4 #d4 ,the     
license of the ,judge of the ,supreme   

,council of the ,indias4 #e4 ,the       
license of the ,royal ,council of the   
,indias4 #f4 ,the approbation of the    
qualificator of the ,inquisition1 who   
was a bare-footed ,carmelite monk4 #g4  
,the license of the ,royal ,council of  
,castile4 ,beyond all this1 the writer  
must be a person in holy orders1 and be 
a person of sufficient influence to     
obtain the favorable notice of all these
 bodies1 who were instinctively hostile 
to the diffusion of all information1    
particularly in regard to the ,new      
,world4 ,nor was this the end of the    
difficulty2 the license of any one of   
these officials could be revoked at     
pleasure1 and1 when republished1 the    
work had to be re-vised4 ,even as late  
as the year #ahbe1 a ,spanish standard  
author could not be republished without 
expurgation4#bd ,with such facts before 
us1 it is safe to declare that not a    
single statement of fact that affected  
either the interests of the king or the 
,church was ever published in ,spain or 

her colonies during the three hundred   
years of the existence of the           
,inquisition2 but every thing published 
was modified to suit the wishes of the  
censors1 without any regard to the      
sentiments of the putative author4  ,but
 who was ,bernal ,diaz8 ,how came he to 
be familiar with the writings of ,las   
,casas that never saw the light8 ,had he
 access to the secret archives of the   
convent8 ,he refers to the account of   
,las ,casas as follows3  ,these the     
slaughters at ,cholula are1 among       
others1 those abominable monstrosities  
which the ,bishop of ,chiapas1 ,las     
,casas1 can find no end in enumerating4 
,but he is wrong when he asserts that we
 gave the ,cholulans the above-mentioned
 chastisement without any provocation1  
and merely for pastime4#be ,the history 
of ,diaz is among the standard literary 
productions of that age1 and is a very  
picture of candor and simplicity4 ,on   
every page there are such evident       
efforts at truthfulness as to raise a   

suspicion that something more than1 a   
simple narrative was the object of      
writing this book fifty years after the 
conquest4 ,by supposing the author to be
 only sixteen years old when he came to 
,america1 ,lockhart makes him only      
seventy years of age when he wrote the  
work4 ,but if we suppose him to have    
been of a reasonable age when he began  
his adventures1 he must have been       
between eighty and ninety years old when
 this book is alleged to have been      
written4 ,gomara had overdone the matter
 in the superhuman achievements which he
 had ascribed to ,cortez1 while ,las    
,casas had proved the conqueror and his 
party to have been a gang of cruel      
monsters4 ,now1 something had to be done
 to avert the odium that was beginning  
to attach to this crusade against the   
enemies of the ,church4 ,in ,spain1     
where a padlock was upon every man's    
mouth1 and where each one buried his    
suspicions in the most secret recesses  
of his heart1 and trembled lest1 even in

 his dreams1 a thought of impiety might 
reach the ear of a familiar1 history    
could always be made to conform to the  
interests of the ,church4  ,since the   
records of the ,spanish ,inquisition    
have become the property of the public1 
and the manner in which the facts of    
history were trifled with is now        
understood1 it is a question more easily
 asked than answered1 ,who wrote such   
and such a book8   ,,who ,,wrote        
,,bernal ,,diaz8  ,who1 then1 wrote the 
history of ,bernal ,diaz8 ,we have seen 
that it cuts down the monstrous         
exaggerations of ,cortez more than a    
half1 yet we shall see that the         
statements of ,diaz are still           
incredible4 ,it is a very religious     
book1 as the ,spaniards understand the  
word religion1 and reflects great credit
 on the ,church4 ,but1 with the slight  
evidence we have presented1 no one would
 charge the work with being altogether a
 fiction1 and ,bernal ,diaz a myth4 ,all
 that can be said is1 that we are left  

in that state of uncertainty in which   
every one finds himself who looks into a
 record that was within the control of  
the ,inquisitorial censors4  ,our       
stage-ride has been forgotten in        
discussing historical questions2 and    
while we have been dwelling upon ,cortez
 and ,bernal ,diaz1 we have crossed the 
plain1 and been climbing the heights of 
,rio ,frio1 and now we begin to catch   
glances of the valley and of the city of
 ,mexico--a city and valley so renowned 
in history and tradition1 that it seems 
more like a city of the ,old ,world than
 a town in the interior of the continent
 that ,columbus discovered4 ,truly it is
 an old city4 ,it was an old city before
 ,columbus was born--an old city in a   
new world4 ,it is one of the links that 
binds the present age to ages long past 
and almost forgotten--a city where the  
present and the past are strangely      
mingled together4 ,in its streets are   
penitents1 wandering1 in sackcloth and  
sandals1 with a downcast look and a rope

 for self-castigation1 among soldiers in
 new ,french uniforms and ladies in the 
latest ,paris fashions4 ,this is not the
 time for a favorable view of the valley
 from this point4 ,to see it in its full
 glory1 we must look upon it at sunrise4
        #af ,folsom's ,letters of       
,cortez1 p4 #di4        #ag ,bernal     
,diaz4 ,lockhart's translation4 ,london1
 #ahdd4       ,vol4 i4 p4 #aeg4         
#ah ,we buried our dead in one of the   
subterranean       dwellings4--,diaz1   
vol4 i4 p4 #aeb4        #ai ,letters1 p4
 #fa4        #bj ,bernal ,diaz1 vol4 i4 
p4 #agi4        #ba ,vol4 i4 p4 #add4   
#bb ,colleccion de ,leyes1 #ahec1 p4    
#ahd4        #bc ,lord ,kingsborough1   
vol4 vi4 p4 #bfe4        #bd ,a ,year in
 ,spain1 by an ,american4        #be    
,bernal ,diaz1 vol4 i4 p4 #bjg4         
,,chapter ,,xii4  ,acapulco4--,the      
,advantages of a ,western ,voyage to    
,india4--,the great annual ,fair of     
,acapulco4--,the ,village and ,harbor of
 ,acapulco4--,the ,war of ,santa ,anna  

and ,alvarez4--,the                     
,retreat4--,traveling alone and         
unarmed4--,the ,peregrino               
,pass4--,quiricua and                   
,cretinism4--,chilpanzingo4--,an        
ill-clad                                
,judge4--,iguala4--,alpayaca4--,cuarnava
ca4   ,let us now make a journey in     
another direction--from ,acapulco       
northward to the city of ,mexico--the   
route that the ,east ,india trade used  
to follow4 ,but1 first of all1 let us   
discourse a little time about this port 
of ,acapulco1 once so famous upon the   
,south ,seas4 ,it was not discovered    
when ,cortez built1 in ,colima1 the     
vessels that went to search for a       
northwest passage2 but when they had    
returned from their fruitless search1   
they anchored in the mountain-girt      
harbor of ,acapulco4 ,the discoveries of
 the celebrated navigator1 ,magellan1   
fixed the commercial character and      
importance of this sea-port4 ,he had    
sailed through the straits that bear his

 name1 and coasted northwardly as far as
 the trades4 ,from this port he bore    
away to the ,spice ,islands1 discovering
 on the voyage the ,philippine ,islands1
 where the city of ,manilla was founded4
 ,by this voyage he demonstrated that   
the advantages of a route across the    
,pacific were so superior to a voyage   
around ,cape ,horn1 as to justify the   
expense of a land transit from ,acapulco
 to ,vera ,cruz1 and reshipment to      
,spain4 ,now that the ,panama ,railroad 
is made1 this demonstration may prove   
advantageous to other nations4          
,,acapulco4  ,the practical advantage of
 this discovery was the establishment of
 the annual ,manilla galleon1 in which  
was sent out #a1jjj1jjj silver dollars  
to purchase ,oriental products for the  
consumption of ,spain and all her       
,american colonies4 ,in this galleon    
sailed the friars that went forth to the
 spiritual conquest of ,india4 ,in it   
sailed ,spanish soldiers1 who followed  
hard after the priests1 to add the      

temporal to the spiritual subjugation of
 ,oriental empires4 ,to this harbor the 
galleon returned1 freighted with the    
rich merchandise of ,china1 ,japan1 and 
the ,spice ,islands4 ,when the arrival  
of the galleon was announced1 traders   
hastened from every quarter of ,new     
,spain to attend the annual fair4       
,little vessels from down the coast came
 to get their share of the mammoth      
cargo4 ,the king's officers came to look
 after the royal revenue2 and caravans  
of mules were summoned to transport the 
,spanish portion of the freight to ,vera
 ,cruz4 ,thus1 for a short time1 the    
population of this village was swollen1 
from #djjj to #ijjj1 which fell off     
again when the galleon took her         
departure4  ,illustration3 ,,acapulco4  
,such was the commercial condition of   
the town of ,acapulco down to the time  
of the independence4 ,from this time it 
was lost to commerce1 until it was made 
a half-way house on the voyage to       
,california4 ,the town lies upon the    

narrow intervale between the hills and  
the harbor4 ,it is built of the frailest
 material1 and is destroyed about once  
in ten years by an earthquake4  ,the    
castle of ,san ,diego stands upon the   
high bank1 and1 though commanding the   
entrance to the harbor1 is itself       
commanded by the surrounding high lands1
 and has so often been taken by assault 
during the last thirty years as to be   
considered untenable4 ,the harbor       
appears like a nest scooped out of the  
mountains1 into and out of which the    
tide ebbs and flows through a double    
channel riven by an earthquake in the   
solid rock4 ,tradition says it once had 
another entrance1 but that an earthquake
 closed it up and opened the present    
channel4 ,there is still another opening
 in the sharp mountain ridge that       
incloses it from the sea1 but this      
opening1 dug by the labor of man1 at a  
point opposite the entrance of the      
harbor1 was to let the cool sea-breeze  
in upon one of the hottest and most     

unhealthy places upon the continent4    
,such1 in substance1 is and was the     
little city of ,acapulco1 the seat and  
focus of the ,oriental commerce of ,new 
,spain and of all the ,spanish empire4  
,,war ,,of ,,santa ,,anna ,,and         
,,alvarez4  ,santa ,anna and ,alvarez   
are the only remaining insurrectionary  
chiefs in ,mexico4 ,when ,i was last in 
the capital1 ,santa ,anna was reigning  
supreme in the vice-royal palace1 and   
,alvarez was supreme at ,iztla1 the     
capital of the ,department of ,guerrero1
 of which ,acapulco is the sea-port     
town4 ,the two chiefs had been long     
hostile to each other1 but a gold mine1 
discovered upon the bank of the ,river  
,mescala1 was the straw that broke the  
camel's back4 ,alvarez had not been     
consulted in the disposition made of it4
 ,santa ,anna felt himself powerful in  
his newly-equipped army of #bc1jjj men1 
the finest army that had ever been seen 
in ,mexico--an army which he was        
maintaining at a daily cost of #bc1jjj4 

,alvarez was equally strong in his      
mountain fastnesses1 in the affections  
of the ,pintos1 or ,spotted ,people1    
and1 above all1 in the poverty of his   
country4 ,santa ,anna took the          
initiative by sending #bjjj men to      
garrison ,acapulco1 and ,alvarez        
committed the first open hostility1 by  
closing the passes against them4 ,then  
the campaign began4 ,santa ,anna        
traveled at the head of his grand army4 
,during his unobstructed march to       
,acapulco there occurred a great many   
victories1 for victories are indigenous 
products of ,mexico4 ,the siege of the  
castle of ,san ,diego de ,acapulco was  
the first of the long list of           
unsuccessful sieges that distinguished  
the year #ahed4 ,the besiegers dared not
 risk an assault1 and they had not      
sufficient material for conducting a    
regular siege4 ,for some weeks the      
opposing forces remained looking at each
 other1 while almost the only blood     
spilled was by the clouds of musquitoes 

that hovered over the camp of the grand 
army1 and by the swarms of fleas that   
infested the castle4 ,it might well be  
called a bloody war1 for few escaped    
without bearing the scars of wounds and 
bloodletting4  ,while the besieging army
 was itself thus almost devoured1 and   
had devoured all the eatables of the    
,pintos1 symptoms of rebellion showed   
themselves at ,mexico1 to suppress which
 required the presence of ,santa ,anna4 
,the generals of his army thought that  
they also might render more important   
services to the country in the streets  
of ,mexico than in this inglorious war  
with bloody insects6 ,a retreat was     
therefore sounded1 and the country of   
the ,pintos was evacuated4 ,thereupon   
rushed forth the little garrison from   
the clutches of the devouring insects1  
and issued a heroic proclamation1 which 
was enough to frighten a whole army4    
,it is time to commence my itinerary    
across the mountains northward to the   
city of ,mexico4 ,my journey was by the 

same mule-path that ,oriental merchants 
have climbed for centuries1 as is shown 
by the vestiges of that strange race of 
which ,humboldt speaks--an inter-mixture
 of ,manillamen and ,chinamen with the  
native race4  ,my traveling companion1  
who had a pistol1 left me and went back 
at the first venta1 or station-house1   
four leagues from ,acapulco4 ,at        
,lemones1 the second station-house1 four
 leagues farther1 ,i passed the night   
sleeping upon a table on the veranda4   
,this is the common lodging-place for   
solitary travelers in ,mexico4 ,here ,i 
formed my first acquaintance with the   
venta pig1 who considers himself the    
peculiar friend of the traveling public4
 ,all the advances made by my new       
acquaintance at this first interview    
were occasional tugs at the blanket     
during the night1 and divers            
unsuccessful attempts to turn the table 
over4 ,at ,alta1 two stages farther on1 
the pig ensconced himself on a mat with 
the children1 while he gave me no       

farther annoyance than an occasional    
visit1 and thrusting of his nose into   
the hammock where ,i slept4  ,it was    
still dark when ,i left ,alta in order  
to clear the ,peregrino ,pass and reach 
,tierra ,colorado that day4 ,in a few   
hours ,i gained the top of the pass1 and
 sat down to take a survey of the zigzag
 way up which my old horse had climbed1 
and of the extensive region of hill and 
mountain country before me4 ,it is      
difficult to believe that over this     
slight mule-path all the ,spanish       
commerce of ,india has passed1 and      
cargoes of silver dollars1 amounting to 
hundreds of millions1 during a period of
 three hundred years4 ,over this pass   
armies have continued to advance and to 
retreat with one uniform result3 if the 
army is a large one1 it is starved out  
of the country2 if it is a small one1 it
 is destroyed4 ,hunger devours the large
 armies2 the ,pintos devour the little  
ones4 ,all around was now as quiet and  
solitary as the grave4 ,there were no   

signs to indicate that this spot had    
been the scene of so much life and      
contention4 ,the prospect was a         
delightful one1 and ,i could have       
enjoyed it much longer had ,i not been  
assailed by that common enemy1 that has 
assailed every general and colonel that 
has crossed this pass--an empty stomach2
 so that ,i and my old horse did our    
very best to reach the ford of the      
,papagalla1 where there was a           
presumptive possibility that eatables   
might be found4 ,i found entertainment  
for beast at the ford1 but no food for  
his rider until we reached ,tierra      
,colorado4  ,here prevails not only that
 harmless cutaneous affection1 the      
,quiricua1 which causes people to appear
 spotted or painted 7,pintos71 but also 
,cretinism1 the much more formidable    
disease so prevalent among the mountains
 of ,switzerland4  ,this town is also   
remembered as the scene of a bloody     
battle4 ,general ,garay1 who had lost   
his way the day before1 had here come   

up1 and we jogged along together2 but as
 a ,mexican general and escort are a    
doubtful protection to an unarmed man1  
if there is any real danger on the road1
 a prudent traveler will shake them off 
and travel on alone4  ,we passed ,buena 
,vista1 the fine sugar estate of ,m4    
,comonfort1 and ,aquaguisotla1 and slept
 at ,mazatlan1 and the next day arrived 
at the famous city of ,chilpanzingo1 or 
,city of the ,bravos1 the centre and    
focus of the insurrection in the        
southern provinces4 ,here1 in the public
 square or plaza1 in front of a church  
built by ,cortez1 there was a grand     
bull-fight1 or rather ox-fight1 in which
 great efforts were made to infuse some 
life into a dozen stupid cattle4 ,these 
efforts were attended with very         
indifferent success4 ,a deep barranca   
extends to the ,mescala1 the largest    
river in ,southern ,mexico1 across which
 we passed on a raft of gourds1         
propelled by two naked ,indians1 who    
swam across1 each holding in his right  

hand a corner of the raft4   ,,an       
,,ill-,,clad ,,judge4  ,the next night1 
after dark1 ,i arrived at a little      
village1 and turned into an open        
caravansary4 ,the old man of the        
establishment was very kind1 and offered
 me a mat to lie on1 but he had no corn 
for my horse4 ,after making some        
inquiries that were a little unpleasant 
for a man who was traveling without a   
passport to answer1 he said he would    
procure for me some corn from the       
alcalde4 ,this village magistrate1 who1 
in the absence of the ,judge of ,first  
,instance1 is ex officio a judge1 was an
 enormous negro1 over six feet in       
height1 whose dignity was not certainly 
dependent upon his official robes1 for a
 single napkin constituted his whole    
apparel4 ,he sat upon an ox-skin1 which 
did duty for the wool-sack--the very    
personification of the majesty of the   
law1 with curled wig1 and hide as black 
as the gown of the ,lord ,chief         
,justice1 with the advantage that both  

were natural4 ,this was the second negro
 ,i had yet seen in the country4 ,the   
other held a commission as captain in   
the army1 and was in the escort of      
,general ,garay4  ,i had a hard day's   
ride to reach the city of ,iguala in    
time to witness the celebration of the  
independence1 which was proclaimed here 
in #ahba4 ,the celebration1 for the most
 part1 consisted in eating and drinking 
from booths placed around the central   
square of the town4 ,as ,i had little   
time to spare1 ,i hurried on1 and soon  
came to the ,puente de ,iztla1 the      
carriage-road1 that is finished thus far
 southward from the city of ,mexico4  ,i
 started early next morning upon my     
journey4 ,during the greater part of the
 day the road led through a continuous  
corn-field1 and toward evening we came  
to the pretty ,indian village of        
,alpayuca1 so neat and well-ordered that
 it might have passed for one of the    
missionary ,indian villages of our      
northern ,indians1 were it not for the  

fine old ,catholic church1 which must   
have cost in its construction1 centuries
 ago1 fifty times the value of the      
present village1 without including the  
cost of the bronze railing1 brought from
 ,china in the prosperous days of the   
,manilla ,company4   ,,cuarnavaca4  ,not
 stopping to examine the ruins of great 
antiquity near this place1 ,i rode on   
six leagues farther1 when ,i arrived at 
the venerable city of ,cuarnavaca1 the  
place selected by ,cortez as the finest 
spot in all ,new ,spain4 ,this was      
bestowed upon him1 at his own request1  
by the ,emperor ,charles ,v4 as a       
residence4 ,it merits to this day the   
distinction that has been given to it as
 one of the finest spots on earth4 ,it  
stands close under the shadow of the    
huge mountains that shield it from the  
northern blast1 and it is at the same   
time protected from the extreme heat of 
the tropics by its elevation of #cjjj   
feet4 ,the immense church edifices here 
proclaim the munificence of ,cortez1    

while the garden of ,laborde1 open to   
the world1 shows with what elegant taste
 he squandered his three several        
fortunes accumulated in mining4 ,the    
combination of a fine day in a          
voluptuous climate1 the beautiful       
scenery1 and the happy faces of the     
people celebrating ,new ,year's day in  
the shade of the orange-trees1 made an  
impression upon a traveler not easily   
forgotten4  ,i was too near the city of 
,mexico to remain long here1 and ,i rode
 on1 up the zigzag way that leads over  
the mountain rim of the ,valley of      
,mexico4 ,i was not fortunate enough to 
accomplish the journey from city to city
 in a single day1 and1 from necessity1  
had to pass the night at the half-way   
house1 upon the summit of the mountain1 
#aj1jjj feet above the sea4 ,a poor     
,hungarian1 who had been detained here  
like myself1 came and laid his blankets 
with mine1 and then we lay down1 and    
chattered and shivered together until   
the morning4 ,such a night as this      

detracts somewhat from the enjoyments of
 this otherwise pleasant journey2 but   
when ,i got a morning view of the valley
 and city of ,mexico from the ,cross of 
the ,marquis of the ,valley1 the        
sufferings of the chilly night were soon
 forgotten4     ,,chapter ,,xiii4       
,california4--,pearl                    
,fisheries4--,missions4--,indian        
,marriages4--,villages4--,precious      
,metals4--,the ,conquest of ,california 
compared with that of ,mexico4--,upper  
,california under the                   
,spaniards4--,mexican ,conquest of      
,california in #ahbe4--,the             
,march4--,the ,conquest4--,california   
under the ,mexicans4--,american         
,conquest4--,sinews of foreign          
,wars4--,a ,protestant and religious    
,war4--,early ,settlers                 
compared4--,mexico in the ,heyday of    
,prosperity4--,rich ,costume of the     
,women4--,superstitious ,worship4--,when
 ,i first saw ,california4--,lawyers    
without ,laws4--,a primitive ,court4--,a

 ,territorial ,judge in ,san            
,francisco4--,mistaken                  
,philanthropy4--,mexican ,side of the   
,picture4--,great ,alms4--,city of      
,mexico overwhelmed by a                
,water-spout4--,the ,superiority of     
,californians4   ,i can not enter the   
valley of ,mexico1 and there discuss the
 various subjects that present          
themselves1 without first gathering from
 ,california the data that will         
elucidate the condition of a country    
abounding in precious metals4           
,,mexican ,,california4  ,there is a    
striking dissimilarity between the two  
,californias4 ,the ,american ,state of  
,california is as celebrated for its    
fertility as for its mineral wealth4    
,peninsular ,california1 on the other   
hand1 is not distinguished for its      
minerals1 nor remarkable for its        
fertility4 ,with the sea washing it on  
either side1 it is a country of drought 
and barrenness4 ,it is like a neutral   
ground between the two rainy seasons4   

,to the north of it1 the winter is the  
season of abundant rains1 with dry      
summers4 ,to the south of it1 the summer
 rains are heavy and continuous1 without
 any showers in winter4 ,thus1 lying    
between the opposite climates1 it rarely
 enjoys the refreshing rains of either4 
,its back-bone is not a continuation of 
the rich ,sierra ,nevada1 but of the    
coast range1 which is poor in minerals4 
,the ,mexican estimates set down the    
population as amounting to #ab1jjj1bf   
but an ,american1 who has carefully     
examined the country1 going down the    
whole length of the peninsula on the one
 side1 and returning by the other1 fixes
 it at #djjj4 ,the inhabitants are an   
imbecile race of mixed bloods and       
,indians1 dwelling in the few small     
villages which the country contains1 and
 upon the ranchos and haciendas4        
,,californian ,,pearl-,,fishery4        
,cattle thrive where water is to be     
found1 and many of the natives are      
excellent herdsmen4 ,fish are abundant1 

but the ,californians lack the necessary
 energy to become successful fishermen  
upon a large scale4 ,the pearl fisheries
 have for centuries brought strangers to
 this shore of the ,gulf1 and many of   
the inhabitants have served as divers   
with success4 ,the production of pearls 
in the ,sea of ,cortez1 or ,gulf of     
,california1 has been so great during   
the last three centuries1 that ,mexico  
has become the greatest country for     
pearls yet known4 ,every female above   
the rank of a peasant must have at least
 one pearl to ornament the pin that     
fastens her shawl or mantilla upon the  
top of her head4 ,most of these pearls  
are of small value1 on account of their 
imperfection in shape or color2 but     
their abundance is one of the first     
things that strike a stranger on        
entering ,mexico4 ,with a change of     
fashions1 the foreign demand for pearls 
fell off so much that1 for the last half
 century1 these fisheries have been     
almost discontinued2 but with the       

reviving demand for pearls1 the         
fisheries have again risen to           
importance4 ,for a more detailed account
 of these pearl-fisheries1 ,i must refer
 to the following note4#bg  ,in the year
 #afjj the ,jesuits first undertook the 
establishment of a mission at ,loretto1 
on the ,gulf coast1 which has ever since
 been the capital of the ,peninsula4    
,from the time of their first           
establishment here down to the time of  
the expulsion of the ,jesuits from all  
the dominions of ,spain1 in #agfg1 they 
continued to cultivate this field1      
though it proved more than a match for  
their wonted perseverance4 ,in a few    
places1 the soil was made to yield its  
increase by the skillful application of 
the waters that sprung up among the     
mountains and rocks4 ,wherever          
irrigation was possible at small        
expense1 there an oasis made its        
appearance1 which was in striking       
contrast to the general barrenness that 
prevailed4  ,the manner in which        

conversions were effected by the        
,spanish priests may seem a little      
strange to the voluntaries of our day4  
,the idea of running down a convert with
 dogs may seem to be rather an original 
method of proselyting1 and has been     
severely commented upon by ,forbes1 and 
other ,americans who have visited the   
,missions4 ,but then such men should    
bear in mind that ,catholics are not    
voluntaries1 and never rely upon        
persuasion to make converts when they   
have the power to use a stronger        
argument4 ,if this same class of        
missionaries used dogs to convert the   
,waldenses in ,italy1 there is a greater
 reason for using them among the        
half-brutish ,indians of ,california4   
,with such a race1 moral suasion has no 
force2 and to adduce arguments to       
convince a man whose only rule of action
 is the gratification of his sensual    
appetites1 would be labor thrown away4  
,the good fathers took a more sensible  
view of the case4 ,having once obtained 

the consent of an ,indian to receive    
,christian baptism1 they took good care 
that he should not fall back from his   
profession1 but retained him a prisoner 
of the cross4 ,they used as much        
mildness as is compatible with their    
system1 and only compelled their        
converts to labor as much as was        
necessary to the success of the mission1
 the rest of the time being devoted to  
their spiritual edification2 that is1   
they were employed in repeating ,latin  
prayers and a ,spanish catechism1 after 
an old ,indian who acted as prompter4   
,sometimes it was necessary to allow the
 ,indians to go abroad for a time1 but  
then their return was provided for by   
retaining the squaws and papooses as    
hostages1 in the same manner as they    
provided for the return of the          
plantation bulls1 by shutting up the    
cows and calves in the corral4  ,the    
system pursued by the ,jesuits1 and1    
after their expulsion1 by the           
,dominicans1 was to treat the ,indians  

as though they were half human and the  
other half bestial4 ,abstractly         
considered1 this was very wrong2 but it 
was practically the only system of      
treatment that gave any promise of      
improving their condition4 ,though in   
many respects they were treated as      
slaves1 yet the missionaries had        
generally at heart the best interests of
 the ,indians4 ,with them it was a      
settled rule1 that when an ,indian was  
to be married1 his kindred should be    
carefully inquired after1 and that among
 them he was to marry1 or not at all2   
for long experience had taught the      
fathers that certain diseases1          
hereditary among them1 were checked by  
each marrying into his own clan1 while  
they were aggravated by intermarriage   
with a stranger4  ,we may sum up the    
whole story of the combined missionary  
and governmental efforts at colonization
 in ,lower ,peninsular ,california1     
during a period of two hundred and fifty
 years1 by saying that they jointly     

succeeded in establishing a             
poverty-stricken village of mud huts1   
called ,san ,josef1 at ,cape ,san       
,lucas1 where the ,manilla galleon1 on  
its voyage to ,acapulco1 could procure a
 supply of fresh vegetables to stay the 
ravages of the scurvy among its crew4   
,they also established a less important 
village at ,la ,paz1 which1 with        
,loretto1 and divers small hamlets and  
ranches1 constitutes all there is of    
this parched peninsula4  ,upper         
,california comes to my aid in          
illustration of the early condition of  
,mexico1 for1 without this assistance1  
many phenomena that are witnessed in    
,mexico would be inexplicable4 ,the     
effects of sudden wealth1 the great     
accumulations of precious metals in few 
hands1 the gross immoralities to which  
such a state of things gives rise1 the  
almost fabulous state of society that   
arises when1 by delays in its export1   
the accumulations become burdensome to  
the possessors1 are no longer novelties 

in our day1 and they now serve to       
illustrate the romance of the history of
 other times4  ,when1 in the year #ahdg1
 a party of ,american settlers and      
trappers hoisted the bear-flag in ,upper
 ,california1 their situation was       
strikingly similar to that of ,cortez   
and his party4 ,numbers were about equal
 in each case4 ,the ,territory of       
,california was equal to the whole      
empire of ,montezuma4 ,the hunters and  
trappers had a more formidable enemy to 
contend with than ,cortez had2 but they 
proved themselves more than a match for 
all antagonists4 ,like ,cortez1 they    
found numerous villages of mud huts and 
a country governed by priests1 but      
immensely superior in civilization and  
in arms to the ,aztecs4   ,,missions    
,,in ,,california4  ,in #aggf1 the monks
 of the angelic order of ,san ,francis  
had established missions along the      
coast4 ,adopting in this fertile country
 the practice of enforcing the labor of 
the ,indians1 the missions became vast  

grazing farms1 where the priest1 like   
the patriarchs of old1 was the spiritual
 and temporal head of the establishment1
 and had flocks and herds innumerable4  
,villages 7pueblos7 had been established
 by the aid of the royal government1 and
 mud forts 7presidios7 were founded as a
 protection to both mission and pueblo2 
and ranges 7ranchos7 for cattle were    
granted to individuals4  ,such was      
,california when it submitted to the    
,plan of ,iguala4 ,it was reported to   
have had #ge1jjj ,indians in connection 
with its missions1 and a large white and
 mixed population4 ,but1 according to   
our custom1 we must deduct two thirds   
from all ,spanish enumerations1 and     
estimate the population of every class  
at only #be1jjj at most4  ,the priests  
of the missions had quietly acquiesced  
in the usurpation of ,iturbide1 and     
acknowledged his empire2 but when ,santa
 ,anna proclaimed a republic1 they were 
struck with horror4 ,the idea of        
conferring civil rights upon ,indians   

was monstrous4 ,the very existence of   
the missions depended on keeping these  
poor creatures in servitude4 ,and as for
 republicanism1 that was incompatible   
with the government of the ,church2 and1
 as good ,catholics and priests1 they   
solemnly protested against it4 ,had     
these missionaries been as poor as the  
apostles1 they probably would not have  
been disturbed for their want of        
republicanism4 ,but their wealth proved 
their ruin1 and the ruin of ,upper      
,california4  ,the new republic was at  
peace1 and the surplus soldiery had to  
be got rid of4 ,it was not safe to      
disband them at home1 where they might  
take to the roads and become successful 
robbers2 but #aejj of the worst were    
selected for a distant expedition--the  
conquest of the far-off territory of    
,california4 ,and then a general was    
found who was in all respects worthy of 
his soldiery4 ,he was pre-eminently the 
greatest coward in the ,mexican army--so
 great a coward1 that he subsequently1  

without striking a blow1 surrendered a  
fort1 with a garrison of #ejj men1      
unconditionally1 to a party of #ej      
foreigners4   ,,mexican ,,conquest ,,of 
,,california4  ,such was the great      
,general ,echandrea1 the ,mexican       
conqueror of ,california2 and such was  
the army that he led to the conquest of 
unarmed priests and an unarmed province4
 ,it was a perilous                     
expedition--perilous1 not to the        
soldiers1 but to the villagers upon     
their route4 ,all dreaded their approach
 and rejoiced at their departure1 for   
their march through their own country   
was a continued triumph1 if one may     
judge from the amount of plunder they   
took from their friends upon the road4  
,it was an expedition that ,falstaff    
would have rejoiced to command1 and his 
regiment would have distinguished       
themselves in such a war4 ,dry and dusty
 were the desert plains over which they 
marched1 and dry and dusty were the     
throats of the army1 for cigaritos were 

scarce1 and muscal could seldom be      
found4 ,but the toils of the long       
marches were relieved by frequent       
fandangoes1 for the wives that followed 
the expedition equaled the men in       
numbers and courage4  ,this long        
journey1 and these days of perilous     
marching and nights of dancing1 at      
length came to an end by their arrival  
at the enemy's frontier--the frontier of
 ,california1 which1 to their joy1 they 
found unguarded2 nor was there any found
 to dispute their passage or to make    
them afraid2 for1 had there been fifty  
resolute persons to oppose them1 this   
valiant army would have absconded1 and  
,california would have remained an      
appanage of the crown of ,spain4 ,but   
,providence had ordered it otherwise2   
and this horde of vagabonds 7leperos7   
came rushing on1 with their wives and   
children1 until they reached the        
cattle-yards 7corrals71 and then was    
displayed their valor and their capacity
 for beef1 and in the name of ,god and  

,liberty they gratified their appetite  
for plunder4 ,the priests1 on their     
part1 stood up manfully1 and witnessed a
 good confession4 ,they refused to      
accept this phantom of liberty which a  
party of vagabonds brought to them4 ,the
 conquerors1 however1 could afford to be
 magnanimous in the midst of so much    
good eating1 and no vengeance was       
inflicted upon unarmed men4 ,but when   
the prefect of the missions was shipped 
off to ,manilla1 the war was at an end1 
for there was no means of defense1 or1  
rather1 it was changed from a war       
against priests to one against the      
cattle4  ,thus was ,california conquered
 and annexed to the ,united ,states of  
,mexico in the year #ahbe1 and the laws 
and constitution of that republic       
extended over it4 ,but it is an abuse of
 words to say that any law existed from 
that time onward4 ,the confusion        
produced by the irruption of this horde 
of vagabonds continued uninterrupted1   
and it involved1 in one chaotic mass1   

law1 order1 and every public and private
 right4 ,the history of the country is  
inexplicable1 and its public archives   
are a mass of such gross irregularities1
 and show such a total disregard of all 
law1 that they are little better than   
the ,sibylline leaves4   ,,american     
,,conquest ,,of ,,california4  ,the     
party that raised the bear flag met with
 no opposition4 ,the party that landed  
from the shipping1 and took possession  
of ,monterey and ,san ,francisco1 were  
alike successful4 ,but when a small     
party of ,american soldiers1 under      
,general ,kearney1 entered the country  
from the west1 the rancheros took the   
alarm1 and rushed forth on their fleet  
horses to defend their private property 
from spoliation1 for they had no idea of
 regular soldiers disconnected from     
robbery and cattle-stealing6 ,the       
,californians fought bravely1 and hemmed
 in the little army of ,americans until 
they were in a suffering condition for  
provisions1 and until the dreaded       

hunters and trappers1 and draughts from 
the shipping1 routed the herdsmen and   
released the beleaguered force4 ,this is
 all there was that looked like war in  
the ,american acquisition of this most  
valuable territory4  ,not only was there
 this similarity in respect to the      
inadequate means by which ,mexico and   
,california were acquired1 but there is 
also a striking similarity in the fact  
of the immediate discovery of           
inexhaustible mines of precious metals1 
that gave importance to an otherwise    
comparatively insignificant conquest4   
,though so many centuries apart1 each   
produced the same effect upon the       
political affairs of nations by suddenly
 furnishing the world with an abundant  
supply of the precious metals4 ,the     
mines of ,mexico1 with some small       
supplies from ,south ,america1 furnished
 the sinews of those religious wars that
 desolated ,europe after the            
,reformation1 and enabled ,spain to     
maintain her vast armaments in the      

,spanish peninsula1 and in her ,italian 
kingdoms and principalities1 and in her 
,belgian provinces4 ,spain was able to  
subsidize the armies of the ,catholic   
,league in ,france1 and the forces of   
the ,catholic ,princes of ,germany1 and 
to turn back the tide of the ,protestant
 ,reformation after it had entered      
,italy1 overrun ,navarre1 and reached   
her own frontier4 ,the gold of          
,california and ,australia has furnished
 ,england the sinews by which she has   
set on foot armies1 and subsidized      
nations in the present crusade against  
,russia4  ,at the time of the           
,reformation1 all the precious metals   
were poured into the lap of a fanatical 
,catholic government2 now they are in   
,protestant hands1 and all1 at last1    
find their resting-place1 even those of 
,mexico1 in the ,london market2 while   
out of ,english ,protestantism has our  
republic arisen1 which is still united  
to her by a common language1 a common   
religion1 and commercial relations1 so  

that the ,london market regulates the   
value of our stocks and the price of the
 food we eat4 ,but our common           
,protestantism is not the ,protestantism
 of the ,reformation3 that was the      
,protestantism of princes1 and every    
where rested for support upon state     
patronage1 the people1 in that epoch1   
having no political existence4          
,protestantism was then a state         
institution1 and soon lost its vitality 
in such an unnatural alliance4 ,the     
,protestantism of our day is the        
,protestantism of dissent1 which rejects
 state support1 yet has shown itself    
more powerful than governments4 ,it has 
restored peace to ,ireland1 and made its
 proselytes there by tens of thousands  
after the last ,british regiment was    
withdrawn4 ,it has rent in twain the    
,church of ,scotland1 and is fast       
revolutionizing the ,church of ,england1
 by driving to ,rome those who prefer   
superstition to democracy1 while it     
draws the remainder of the nation to    

itself4 ,in the ,united ,states it is   
the ruling power1 though it has here no 
political authority4 ,it has penetrated 
the most obscure hamlets of ,france and 
,spain1 and made thousands of converts  
in ,italy itself4 ,and where its        
preachers could not penetrate1 there the
 written ,word has found its way4       
,,mexico ,,two ,,centuries ,,ago4  ,the 
letters of ,cortez show that he1 like   
his master1 was above the superstitions 
of the ,spanish race2 yet both1 skillful
 diplomatists1 knew well how to avail   
themselves of the superstitions of      
others4 ,the early ,spanish adventurers 
to ,mexico were a good illustration of  
the doctrine of total depravity1 and the
 priests1 that held them in             
leading-strings1 were as depraved as    
themselves4 ,like priests1 like people4 
,our first settlers in ,california had  
learned self-government and self-control
 in the school of ,protestantism2 and   
when they took possession of that part  
of the country beyond the limit of      

,spanish settlements1 where there were  
no laws and no written code1 they were a
 law unto themselves1 and the ,spanish  
,americans that gathered about them     
found more perfect protection to life   
and property than they had ever before  
enjoyed4 ,the ,spanish adventurers at   
,mexico lavished the wealth which they  
had acquired by the forced labor of the 
,indians in the mines upon priests and  
monks1 who amused them with lying       
miracles4 ,they also gave money as an   
atonement for the criminal lives they   
led1 and to shield themselves from the  
vengeance of the ,inquisition1 where    
they were suspected of being rich4 ,the 
religion of the ,californians was a     
simple veneration for the truths of     
,scripture4 ,in some it amounted to     
devotion1 but it was devotion sanctioned
 by reason and the understanding4 ,they 
all alike despised superstition and     
abhorred despotism4 ,in conclusion1 ,i  
may add1 that1 had such a race of men as
 ,i saw in the mountains and villages of

 ,california at an early period of its  
settlement existed at the time of the   
conquest of ,mexico1 they would have    
revolutionized the world4  ,we have     
heard much of the immorality1 excessive 
extravagance and luxury of the cities of
 ,california2 but the following picture 
of the state of the city of ,mexico in  
the heyday of its prosperity1 five years
 before it was destroyed by an          
inundation1 is from the black-letter    
volume of ,thomas ,gage1 of which ,i    
have already availed myself4  ,almost   
all ,mexico is now built with very fair 
and spacious houses1 with gardens of    
recreation4 ,the streets are very broad2
 in the narrowest of them three coaches 
may go1 and in the broadest of them six 
may go in the breadth of them1 which    
makes the city seem a great deal bigger 
than it is4 ,in my time it was thought  
to be of between thirty and forty       
thousand inhabitants1 ,spaniards1 who   
are so proud and rich1 that half the    
city was judged to keep coaches2 for it 

was a most credible report that in      
,mexico there were about #ae1jjj        
coaches4  ,it is a by-word that at      
,mexico there are four things fair2 that
 is to say1 the women1 the apparel1 the 
horses1 and the streets4 ,but to this ,i
 may add the beauty of some of the      
coaches of the gentry1 which do exceed  
in cost the best of the court of        
,madrid1 and other parts of             
,christendom1 for they spare no silver1 
nor gold1 nor precious stones1 nor cloth
 of gold1 nor the best silks from       
,china1 to enrich them2 and to the      
gallantry of their horses the pride of  
some doth add the cost of bridles and   
shoes of silver4 ,the streets of        
,christendom must not compare with those
 in breadth and cleanness1 but          
especially in the riches of the shops   
which do adorn them4 ,above all1 the    
goldsmith's shops and works are to be   
admired4 ,the ,east ,indians1 and the   
people of ,china1 that have been made   
,christians1 and every year come        

thither1 have perfected the ,spaniards  
in that trade4 ,there is in the cloister
 of the ,dominicans a lamp hanging in   
the ,church1 with three hundred branches
 wrought in silver1 to hold so many     
candles1 besides a hundred little lamps 
for oil set in it1 every one being made 
with several workmanship so exquisitely 
that it is valued to be worth four      
hundred thousand ducats2 and with such  
like curious works are many streets made
 more rich and beautiful from the shops 
of goldsmiths4  ,to the by-word touching
 the beauty of the women ,i must add the
 liberty they enjoy for gaming1 which is
 such that the day and night is too     
short for them to end a primera when    
once it is begun2 nay1 gaming is so     
common to them1 that they invite        
gentlemen to their houses for no other  
end4 ,to myself it happened that1       
passing along the streets in company    
with a friar that came with me the year 
before from ,spain1 a gentlewoman of    
great birth1 knowing us to be           

new-comers1 from her window called unto 
us1 and1 after two or three slight      
questions concerning ,spain1 asked us if
 we would come in and play with her a   
game at primera4 ,both men and women are
 excessive in their apparel1 using more 
silks than stuffs and cloth4 ,precious  
stones and pearls farther much this vain
 ostentation4 ,a hatband and rose made  
of diamonds in a gentleman's hat is     
common1 and a hatband of pearls is      
ordinary in a tradesman2 nay1 a         
blackamore1 or tawney young maid and    
slave1 will make hard shift but she will
 be in fashion with her neck-chain and  
,bracelets of pearls1 and her ear-bobs  
of considerable jewels4  ,illustration3 
,,mexican ,,costumes4  ,their clothing  
is a petticoat of silk or cloth1 with   
many silver or golden laces1 with a very
 double ribbon of some light color1 with
 long silver or golden tags hanging down
 in front the whole length of their     
petticoat to the ground1 and the like   
behind2 their waistcoats made like      

bodies1 with skirts1 laced likewise with
 gold and silver1 without sleeves1 and a
 girdle about their waist of great      
price1 stuck with pearls and knobs of   
gold4 ,their sleeves are broad and open 
at the end1 of ,holland or fine ,china  
linen1 wrought1 some with colored silks1
 some with silk and gold1 some with silk
 and silver1 hanging down almost to the 
ground2 the locks of their heads are    
covered with some wrought quoif1 and    
over it another of net-work of silk1    
bound with a fair silk1 or silver1 or   
golden ribbon1 which crosses the upper  
part of their foreheads1 and hath       
commonly worked out in letters some     
light and foolish love posie2 their     
bare1 black1 and tawney breasts1 are    
covered with bobs hanging from their    
chains of pearls4 ,and when they go     
abroad1 they use a white mantle of lawn 
or cambric1 rounded with a broad lace1  
which some put over their heads1 the    
breadth reaching only to their middles  
behind1 that their girdle and ribbons   

may be seen1 and the two ends before    
reaching to the ground almost2 others   
cast their mantles only upon their      
shoulders2 and swaggerers like to cast  
the one end over the left shoulder1     
while with their right arm they support 
the lower part of it1 more like roaring 
boys than honest civil maids4 ,their    
shoes are high and of many soles1 the   
outside whereof of the profaner sort are
 plated over with a lift of silver1     
which is fastened with small nails with 
broad silver heads4 ,most of these are  
or have been slaves1 though love have   
set them loose at liberty to enslave    
souls to sin and ,satan2 and for the    
looseness of their lives1 and public    
scandals committed by them and the      
better sort of the ,spaniards1 ,i have  
heard them say often1 who possessed more
 religion and fear of ,god1 they verily 
thought ,god would destroy that city1   
and give up the country into the power  
of some other nation4  ,and ,i doubt not
 but the flourishing of ,mexico in      

coaches1 horses1 streets1 women1 and    
apparel1 is very slippery1 and will make
 those proud inhabitants slip and fall  
into the power and dominion of some     
other prince of this world1 and         
hereafter1 in the world to come1 into   
the powerful hands of an angry ,judge1  
who is the ,king of kings and ,lord of  
lords1 which ,paul saith 7,heb4 x4 #ca7 
is a fearful thing4 ,for this city doth 
not only flourish in the ways aforesaid1
 but also in the superstitious          
worshiping of ,god and the saints they  
exceed ,rome itself1 and all other      
places of ,christendom4 ,and it is a    
thing which ,i have very much and       
carefully observed in all my travels1   
both in ,europe and ,america1 that in   
those cities wherein there is most lewd 
licentiousness of life1 there is also   
most cost in the temples1 and most      
public superstitious worship of ,god and
 the saints4  ,so much for worthy       
,thomas ,gage1 and his estimate of the  
,mexicans of his day4   ,,americans ,,in

 ,,california4  ,i arrived at ,san      
,francisco in the midst of the gold     
excitement4 ,the town was crowded with  
rough-looking muscular men in red       
shirts1 slouch hats1 and trowsers over  
which were drawn high-topped boots4 ,a  
,colt's revolver1 a belt filled with    
gold1 and an unshaven visage completed  
the tout ensemble of a crowd who were   
purchasing supplies for their companions
 in the mines4 ,they strode along1      
conscious that they belonged to the     
,anglo-,saxon race and the aristocracy  
of labor4 ,as they turned into the      
temporary houses or booths which then   
constituted the town1 or threaded their 
way among the piles of merchandise that 
encumbered the streets1 the effeminate  
natives instinctively shrunk back1      
conscious of their own imbecility2 the  
,spanish ,americans were overawed by    
their presence2 and even ,sidney        
convicts thought it most profitable to  
turn their thoughts to honest labor4    
,the miner had his vices too as well as 

his virtues4 ,if you will follow him as 
he opens right and left a crowd that    
surrounds a table heaped with lumps of  
gold and silver coin1 you will see how  
carelessly he throws down a piece of    
metal1 looking sharply into the eye of  
the cunning dealer of the monte cards4  
,if he detects a false move1 he cocks   
his weapon1 and draws the gold back into
 his bag and strides away4  ,such were  
the men who knew no fear1 and dreaded no
 labor or fatigue1 and who have made    
,california in five short years a state 
more powerful than the ,republic of     
,mexico4  ,in an interior town ,i was   
called to practice as an attorney4 ,my  
first client was the driver of an       
ox-team1 who was suing for extra        
services in addition to his regular     
wages of five hundred dollars a month   
and board 7,doe vs4 ,pickett74 ,my      
office was a space of four feet by six1 
partitioned off by two cotton sheets1 in
 the corner of a canvas store4 ,the     
ground was for a while the floor2 yet ,i

 paid in advance the monthly rent of two
 ounces of gold1 and never had occasion 
to regret the outlay4 ,the heavy winter 
rains at length compelled my landlord to
 lay a floor of rough boards1 which cost
 him seven hundred dollars for a        
thousand feet4  ,before the             
establishment of the state government1  
there was a judiciary created by an     
autocratical edict of ,general ,riley2  
and a pamphlet1 extracted and translated
 from the ,mexican ,constitutional laws 
of #ahcf1 constituted the ,corpus ,juris
 ,civilis of the ,territory of          
,california4 ,the remainder of the law  
was made up of the judge's ideas of     
equity1 and of the law he had read      
before leaving home4 ,inartificial and  
rude as was this system1 still it was   
wonderfully efficient2 and it was well  
for the people of ,california that it   
was so1 for an unparalleled immigration 
had brought with it an unparalleled     
amount of litigation4  ,with the daily  
occurring causes of litigation1 crowds  

assembled at the school-house on the    
,plaza1 where from morning to night sat 
a judge dispensing off-hand justice4 ,in
 front of him sat three or four clerks  
conducting the business4 ,the crowds of 
lawyers1 litigants1 and witnesses that  
surrounded the court were not idle      
spectators1 but represented the ordinary
 accumulation of business for the day1  
which was to be disposed of before the  
adjournment of the court4 ,speedy       
justice was more desirable than exact   
justice1 where labor was valued at a    
gold ounce a day2 and none were more    
desirous of speed than the lawyers1     
whose prospects of compensation depended
 much upon the promptitude with which   
judgment was rendered4  ,the moving     
spirit of the whole scene1 ,judge       
,a----1 watched from behind the desk all
 that was said or done1 seldom          
withdrawing his attention unless to     
administer an oath for the consideration
 of one dollar1 or to sign an order for 
the consideration of two dollars4       

,sometimes he would change his position2
 but1 whether warming his uncovered feet
 at the fire-place1 or drawing on his   
boots1 or replenishing his stock of     
tobacco1 there was the same unalterable 
attention on his part4 ,as soon as he   
comprehended a case1 his authoritative  
voice was heard1 closing the discussion1
 and dictating to a clerk the exact     
number of dollars and cents for which he
 should enter up a judgment4 ,and then  
another1 and another case was called up1
 and submitted to this summary process1 
until about nine o'clock at night1 when 
the day's work terminated4 ,all orders  
asked for by a responsible attorney were
 granted ex parte1 the judge remarking  
that if the order was not a proper one1 
the other party would soon appear1 and  
then he could ascertain the real merits 
of the case4 ,the grand feature of this 
court was the facility with which an    
injunction could be obtained1 and the   
rapidity with which it could be set     
aside4   ,,californian ,,courts4  ,crime

 was almost unknown until we got a state
 government and a code of laws1 which1  
with misplaced philanthropy1 had made   
the legal practice so easy upon         
criminals that a conviction was next to 
impossible4 ,then it was that crime     
stalked abroad in the face of day1 and  
,sidney convicts plied their trade in   
,san ,francisco after it had become a   
city4 ,shops were entered and robbed in 
business hours2 and by night1 men were  
murdered in the streets2 and thefts     
escaped punishment4 ,then it was that   
men1 caught in the commission of crime1 
were hanged in the open streets1 and    
combinations were formed for            
self-defense4 ,but when a new           
,legislature gave efficiency to the     
laws1 the community yielded a willing   
obedience to the magistrate4 ,from an   
early day there had been miners' courts1
 which1 with their alcaldes1 had        
conciliated differences4 ,but when      
magistrates were elected1 these courts  
disappeared4 ,this was a change from bad

 to worse1 for no condition is so       
deplorable as that of a people whose    
magistracy are powerless4  ,such is a   
fair picture of ,california in its worst
 estate1 when the worst and the best of 
all nations were there congregated1 and 
kept in subjection by the law-abiding   
spirit of an ,anglo-,saxon              
immigration--a state of society in the  
first year of its existence1 yet        
infinitely superior to that existing in 
the city of ,mexico a hundred years     
after the discovery of the mines of     
,haxal and ,pachuca4 ,but we may        
complete the contrast by adding the more
 deplorable part of the picture which   
,friar ,thomas ,gage has drawn4  ,it    
seems1 says he1 that religion teaches   
that all wickedness is allowable1 so    
that the churches and clergy flourish4  
,nay1 while the purse is open to        
lasciviousness1 if it be likewise open  
to enrich the temple walls and roofs1   
this is better than any holy water1 or  
water to wash away the filth of the     

other4 ,rome is held to be the head of  
superstition2 and what stately churches1
 chapels1 and cloisters are in it6 ,what
 fastings1 what processions1 what       
appearances of devotion6 ,and1 on the   
other side1 what liberty1 what          
profaneness1 what whoredoms1 nay1 what  
sins of ,sodom are committed in it1     
insomuch that it could be the saying of 
a friar to myself1 while ,i was in it1  
that he verily thought there was no one 
city in the world wherein were more     
,atheists than in ,rome4 ,i might show  
this much in ,madrid1 ,seville1         
,valladolid1 and other famous cities in 
,spain and in ,italy2 in ,milan1 ,genoa1
 and ,naples2 relating many instances of
 scandals committed in those places1 and
 yet the temples are mightily enriched  
by those who have thought their alms a  
sufficient warrant to free them from    
hell and purgatory4 ,but ,i must return 
to ,mexico1 which furnishes a thousand  
witnesses of this truth--sin and        
wickedness abounding in it--and yet no  

such people in the world toward the     
,church and clergy4 ,in their lifetime  
they strive to excel one another in     
their gifts to the cloisters of nuns and
 friars1 some erecting altars to their  
best-devoted saints1 worth many thousand
 ducats1 others presenting crowns of    
gold to the pictures of ,mary1 others   
lamps1 others golden chains1 others     
building cloisters at their own charge1 
others repairing them1 others1 at their 
death1 leaving to them two or three     
thousand ducats for an annual stipend4  
,,mexico ,,two ,,centuries ,,ago4       
,among these great benefactors to the   
churches of that city1 ,i should wrong  
my history if ,i should forget one that 
lived in my time1 called ,alonzo        
,cuellar1 who was reported to have a    
closet in his house laid with bars of   
gold instead of brick2 though indeed it 
was not so1 but only reported for his   
abundant riches and store of bars of    
gold1 which he had in one chest1        
standing in a closet distant from       

another1 where he had a chest full of   
wedges of silver4 ,this man alone built 
a nunnery for ,franciscan nuns1 which   
stood him in above #cj1jjj ducats1 and  
left unto it1 for the maintenance of the
 nuns1 #bjjj ducats yearly1 with        
obligation of some masses to be said in 
the church every year for his soul after
 his decease4 ,and yet this man's life  
was so scandalous1 that commonly1 in the
 night1 with two servants1 he would go  
round the city visiting such scandalous 
persons1 whose attire before hath been  
described1 carrying his beads in his    
hands1 and at every house letting fall a
 bead1 and tying a false knot1 that when
 he came home in the morning1 toward    
break of the day1 he might number by his
 beads the uncivil stations he had      
walked and visited that night4  ,great  
alms and liberality toward religious    
houses in that city commonly are coupled
 with great and scandalous wickedness4  
,they wallow in the bed of riches and   
wealth1 and make their alms the coverlet

 to cover their loose and lascivious    
lives4 ,from hence are the churches so  
fairly built and adorned4 ,there are not
 above fifty churches and chapels1      
cloisters and nunneries1 and parish     
churches in the city2 but those that are
 there are the fairest that ever my eyes
 beheld1 the roofs and beams being1 in  
many of them1 all daubed with gold1 and 
many altars with sundry marble pillars1 
and others with ,brazil-wood stays      
standing one above another1 with        
tabernacles for several saints1 richly  
wrought with golden colors1 so that     
twenty thousand ducats is a common price
 of many of them4 ,these cause          
admiration in the common sort of people1
 and admiration brings on daily         
adoration in them to those glorious     
spectacles and images of saints2 so     
,satan shows ,christ all the glory of   
the kingdoms to entice him to           
admiration1 and then he said1 ',all     
these things will ,i give thee if thou  
wilt fall down and worship me'          

7,matthew1 iv4 #h1 #i74 ,the devil will 
give all the world to be adored4        
,besides these beautiful buildings1 the 
inward riches belonging to the altars   
are infinite in price and value1 such as
 copes1 canopies1 hangings1             
altar-cloths1 candlesticks1 jewels      
belonging to the saints1 and crowns of  
gold and silver1 and tabernacles of gold
 and crystal to carry about their       
sacrament the ,saviour of the world in  
the form of a wafer in procession1 all  
of which would mount to the worth of a  
reasonable mine of silver1 and would be 
a rich prey for any nation that could   
make better use of wealth and riches4 ,i
 will not speak much of the lives of the
 friars and nuns of this city1 but only 
that they there enjoy more liberty than 
in ,europe--where they have too         
much--and that surely the scandals      
committed by them do cry up to ,heaven  
for vengeance1 judgment1 destruction4   
,it is ordinary for the friars to visit 
their devoted nuns1 and to spend whole  

days with them1 hearing their music1    
feeding on their sweetmeats2 and for    
this purpose they have many chambers1   
which they call loquatories1 to talk in1
 with wooden bars between the nuns and  
them2 and in these chambers are tables  
for the friars to dine at1 and while    
they dine the nuns recreate them with   
their voices4 ,gentlemen and citizens   
give their daughters to be brought up in
 these nunneries1 where they are taught 
to make all sorts of conserves and      
preserves1 all sorts of music1 which is 
so exquisite in that city that ,i dare  
be bold to say that the people are drawn
 to churches more for the delight of the
 music than for any delight in the      
service of ,god4 ,more1 they teach these
 young children to act like players2    
and1 to entice the people to the        
churches1 they make these children act  
short dialogues in their choirs1 richly 
attiring them with men and women's      
apparel1 especially upon ,midsummer's   
day and the eight days before their     

,christmas1 which is so gallantly       
performed that many factious strifes and
 single combats have been1 and some were
 in my time1 for defending which of     
these nunneries most excelled in music  
and in the training up of children4     
,such is a picture drawn by a candid    
writer of one of the most devout        
,catholic cities in the world1 where    
licentiousness and papacy went hand in  
hand until they reached that extreme    
point of corruption1 that1 as in the    
case of ,sodom1 ,god overthrew the city 
by a judgment from heaven2 not by fire  
and brimstone1 but by a water-spout1    
which1 in the space of the five years   
that it lay upon the town three feet    
deep1 loosened the foundations of all   
buildings and impoverished the          
inhabitants4 ,and when at length the    
earth opened and swallowed up these     
waters1 the city had to be rebuilt4 ,the
 misery and distress that this flood    
inflicted upon the lower orders of the  
inhabitants was great in the extreme4   

,it was on ,sunday morning that the     
cause of the moral superiority of the   
,american miners over those of ,mexico  
was visible4 ,then the noise and bustle 
about my residence was hushed4 ,the most
 immoral seemed to be overawed by a     
sense of respect for the religious      
opinions of others2 and when the sound  
of a ship-bell1 hung on the limb of a   
tree1 was heard1 all except the baser   
sort repaired to the shade of an oak1 so
 large and venerable that it might have 
shielded the whole household of ,abraham
 while engaged in family worship4 ,a    
portable seraphine gave forth a familiar
 tune1 in which all joined in singing   
with a zest which is only realized by   
those whom it carries back in           
recollection to distant home4 ,then the 
voice of the preacher was heard invoking
 the blessing of ,god upon the assembled
 worshipers1 and his pardon of their    
offenses2 and then followed his         
exhortation to seek from ,god the pardon
 of their many sins2 and as he1 with    

heartfelt earnestness1 reasoned of      
righteousness1 temperance1 and a        
judgment to come1 many a stern-visaged  
miner trembled for his condition1 and   
went away a better and a more honest    
man--ten thousand times more improved   
than if he had presented a crown of gold
 to the ,virgin ,mary4  ,we are now     
prepared to enter the valley of ,mexico1
 and examine the objects that there     
present themselves4        #bf          
,colleccion de ,leyes1 p4 #ahj4         
#bg ,the whole ,pacific coast produces  
pearls1 but the most       extensive    
pearl-fisheries1 at the present time1   
are in the ,gulf       of ,california1  
where1 among an inexhaustible supply of 
little       pearls1 there are produced 
some of the very finest quality4 ,the   
pearls of the ,countess de ,regla1 those
 of the ,marquesa de       ,gudalupe1   
and ,madame ,velasco1 are from these    
fisheries1 and are       remarkable for 
their great size and value4 ,the great  
pearl       presented to ,general       

,victoria1 while he was ,president1 was 
from       the same locality4 7,,ward1  
vol4 ii4 p4 #bic47        ,the pearls of
 this gulf are considered of excellent  
water1 but       their rather irregular 
figure somewhat reduces their value4    
,the       manner of obtaining pearls is
 not without interest4 ,the vessels     
employed in the fisheries are from      
fifteen to thirty tons burden4          
,they are usually fitted out by private 
individuals4 ,the armador       or owner
 commands them4 ,crews are shipped to   
work them1 and from       forty to fifty
 ,indians1 called ,busos1 to dive for   
the oyster4 ,a       stock of provisions
 and spirits1 a small sum of money to   
advance       the people during the     
cruise1 a limited supply of calaboose   
furniture1 a sufficient number of       
hammocks to sleep in1 and a             
quantity of ballast1 constitute nearly  
all the cargo outward       bound4      
,thus arranged1 they sail into the      
,gulf2 and1 having arrived at       the 

oyster banks1 cast anchor and commence  
business4 ,the divers       are first   
called to duty4 ,they plunge to the     
bottom in four or       five fathom     
water1 dig up with sharpened sticks as  
many oysters       as they are able1    
rise to the surface1 and deposit them in
 sacks       hung to receive them at the
 vessel's side4 ,and thus they continue 
to do till the sacks are filled1 or the 
hours allotted to this       part of the
 labor are ended4        ,when the      
diving of the day is done1 all come on  
board and place       themselves in a   
circle around the armador1 who divides  
what they       have obtained in the    
following manner3 two oysters for       
himself1       the same number for the  
,busos1 or divers1 and one for the      
government4 ,this division having been  
concluded1 they next       proceed1     
without moving from their places1 to    
open the oysters       which have fallen
 to the lot of the armador4 ,during this
       operation1 that dignitary has to 

watch the ,busos with the       greatest
 scrutiny1 to prevent them from         
swallowing the pearls       with the    
oysters1 a trick which they perform with
 so much       dexterity as to almost   
defy detection1 and by means of which   
they       often manage to secrete the  
most valuable pearls4        ,the       
government portion is next opened with  
the same precautions1       and taken   
into possession by the armador4 ,and1   
last of all1 the       ,busos open      
theirs1 and sell them to the armador in 
liquidation of       debts incurred for 
their outfits1 or of moneys advanced    
during       the voyage4 ,they usually  
reserve a few to sell to dealers on     
shore1 who always accompany these       
expeditions with spirituous             
liquors1 chocolate1 sugar1 cigars1 and  
other articles of which       ,indian   
divers are especially fond4 ,since the  
,mexicans obtained       their          
independence1 another mode of division  
has been adopted4       ,every time the 

,busos come up1 the largest oyster which
 he has       obtained is taken by the  
armador1 and laid aside for the use of  
the ,virgin ,mary4 ,the rest are thrown 
in a pile2 and1 when the       day's    
diving is ended1 eight oysters are laid 
out for the       armador1 eight for the
 ,busos1 and two for the government4    
,in the year #ahca1 one vessel with     
seventy ,busos1 another with            
fifty1 and two with thirty each1 and two
 boats with ten each1       from the    
coast of ,sonora1 engaged in this       
fishery4 ,the one       brought in forty
 ounces of pearls1 valued at #fejj2     
another1       twenty-one ounces1 valued
 at #cjjj2 another1 twelve ounces1      
valued at #bjjj1 and the two boats a    
proportionate quantity4       ,there    
were1 in the same season1 ten or twelve 
other vessels1 from       other parts1  
employed in the same trade1 which1 if   
equally       successful1 swelled the   
value of pearls taken in that year to   
the       sum of more than forty        

thousand dollars4--,,farnham',s ,scenes 
in       the ,pacific1 p4 #cjg4         
,,chapter ,,xiv4  ,first ,sight of the  
,valley of ,mexico4--,a ,venice in a    
mountain ,valley4--,an ,emperor waiting 
his ,murderers4--,cortez mowing down    
unarmed ,indians4--,a new kind of       
,piety4--,capture of an                 
,emperor4--,torturing an ,emperor to    
,death4--,the ,children paying the      
,penalty of their ,fathers'             
,crimes4--,the ,aztecs and other        
,indians4--,the ,difference is in the   
,historians4--,the ,superstitions of the
 ,indians4--,the ,valley of             
,mexico4--,an ,american ,survey of the  
,valley4--,a topographical ,view4--,the 
,ponds ,chalco1 ,xochimulco1 and        
,tezcuco were never ,lakes4   ,my first 
view of the ,valley of ,mexico was from 
the point where the ,acapulco road      
passes the ,cross of the ,marquis of the
 ,valley4 ,i had read with eagerness the
 ,history of the ,conquest1 and of the  
adventures of the noble ,conquistador4  

,not a shadow of a doubt had then       
crossed my mind in regard to the truth  
of all that had been so elegantly       
written4 ,beautiful composition had     
supplied the place of evidence1 and that
 practice of writing romances of history
 which the ,spaniards had inherited from
 the ,moors had completely captivated   
me1 as it had thousands of others4 ,the 
aspect of the valley was all that my    
fancy had painted it4 ,the sun was in   
the right quarter to produce the        
greatest possible effect4 ,the          
unnumbered pools of surface-water that  
abound in the valley appeared at that   
distance like so many lakelets supplied 
by crystal fountains1 as each one       
reflected the bright sun from its       
mirror-like surface2 these all were     
inclosed in the richest setting of      
nature's green4  ,it was such a scene as
 would justify the extravagant language 
which ,spaniards have employed in       
describing it4 ,while ,i recalled its   
traditional history1 ,i was tempted to  

exclaim as a native would have done1 and
 to give credence to the fables of which
 this valley has been the scene4 ,here1 
as the story ran1 amid floating gardens 
of rarest flowers and richest fruits1   
lay1 in olden time1 another ,venice--a  
,venice in an inland mountain valley--a 
,venice upon whose ,rialto never walked 
a ,shylock with his money-bags2 for in  
this market-place the most delicious    
fruits the world produces1 the loveliest
 flowers1 rich stuffs resplendent with  
,tyrian dyes1 and princely mantles of   
feather-work1 were bought with pretty   
shells1 and such money as the sea       
produces4 ,it was a ,venice with its    
street of waters and its central basin1 
where jostled the gondolas of the ,aztec
 nobles and the light canoes of birch   
bark among the vessels of commerce which
 came laden with slaves and other       
merchandise from the surrounding        
villages--a basin that disappeared the  
same day that the ,indian empire fell4  
,,guatemozin4  ,this basin was the last 

vestige of ,aztec dominion2 and when    
there no longer was any safe shelter    
upon the land1 ,guatemozin retired to   
his canoe and took shelter here1 and    
calmly waited till his time should come 
to be murdered4 ,he could not flee4 ,he 
could not capitulate1 for he was an     
emperor4 ,as he sat here waiting for    
death1 what must have been his          
reflections6 ,what thoughts did not the 
very boat he occupied call up6 ,how     
often had it carried him out upon the   
lake to the floating gardens and        
volcanic islands1 where he had witnessed
 so many times the gorgeous reflections 
of an evening sun upon the snow-capped  
,popocatapetl1 in whose bowels the god  
of fire had his dwelling6 ,and then the 
lake itself1 how much it had perplexed  
his thoughts1 that in one part its      
waters should be fresh1 with islands    
teeming with the richest vegetation1 and
 in another part salt and bitter1 with  
utter barrenness resting upon its       
shores6 ,how he used to meet his brother

 of ,tezcuco in the after part of the   
day1 to exchange congratulations and    
talk over affairs of interest to both   
the royal families6 ,now all these      
pleasures were terminated forever4 ,his 
brother of ,tezcuco was in the ranks of 
his enemies1 seeking his destruction4   
,thus sat the emperor1 surrounded by a  
numerous fleet of canoes1 whose         
occupants were without hope of escape or
 strength to fight2 but1 with ,indian   
stoicism1 all sat waiting their         
inevitable doom from freebooters whom   
they had disappointed of their prey4 ,as
 the emperor and his nobles sat here    
witnessing the destruction of their     
pumice-stone palaces and mud-built huts1
 and the filling up of their canals1    
they consoled themselves with the       
reflection that their gold and their    
wealth were all at the bottom of these  
canals1 and that the ,spaniards1 in     
their hot haste to enjoy the spoils of  
the city1 were unwittingly burying      
forever the prize for which they were   

contending4 ,such were the thoughts of  
these ,aztecs as they sat in their      
canoes1 longing for death to relieve    
them from agony of suspense1 enduring   
all the torments of the extremest       
thirst1 which they vainly sought to     
quench by draughts of the brackish water
 of the lake4 ,they had not long to     
wait2 for1 by the express commands of   
,cortez1 his followers were mowing down 
unresisting citizens1 because the       
emperor1 over whom they had no control1 
would not surrender himself4  ,who can  
stand for the first time upon the       
mountain rim that incloses this valley1 
and not have his thoughts carried back  
to some such scene as this8 ,the        
recollection is not easily eradicated   
that the remnant of a once powerful     
tribe of ,indians1 partially emerged    
from barbarism1 here received their     
death1 in cold blood1 at the hands of a 
party of white murderers4 ,the good     
,archbishop ,loranzana commends the     
piety of ,cortez in never neglecting to 

attend mass before going out to his     
daily work of slaughter4 ,it was a pious
 act1 no doubt1 that on the last morning
 of the siege he stopped and listened to
 a mass--that pantomime which set forth 
the death of the ,redeemer of the       
world--preparatory to consummating the  
butchery of ,indians incapable of       
resistance4  ,garci ,holguin1 the master
 of a brigantine1 or rather flat-boat1  
bolder than the rest1 drove through the 
fleet of canoes that occupied the basin1
 until he encountered in the centre a   
canoe containing the person of the      
emperor1 whom he made prisoner and      
brought to ,cortez1 whereupon the       
slaughter ceased4  ,neither the horrid  
sight which the city presented1 nor the 
fallen fortunes of a brave enemy1 could 
move the soul of ,cortez4 ,a brigand    
knows no remorse and feels no pity4     
,gold had been the object of his pious  
mission1 and when he found not gold     
enough to satisfy the cravings of his   
gang1 he soaked the fallen emperor's    

feet in oil1 and then burned them at a  
slow fire1 to extort from him a         
confession of the place of concealment  
of his supposed treasure2 and when1 in  
after years1 he was tired of the burden 
of such a prisoner1 he wantonly hanged  
him up by the heels to die in a distant 
forest4  ,in this very city where       
,cortez tortured ,guatemozin was a son  
of ,cortez1 who inherited the spoils of 
his father's atrocities1 put to the     
torture by one of the ,vice-kings1 while
 the children's children of the         
,conquistadors paid for the wealth they 
inherited in the terrible penalties     
inflicted upon them by the buccaneers1  
that ravaged their coasts for two       
hundred years4 ,have not the sins of the
 fathers been visited upon the children8
  ,the ,aztecs1 their empire1 and their 
city1 have long since disappeared2 their
 crimes1 and the despotism which they   
exercised over the tribes they had      
conquered1 are all forgotten in the     
terrible catastrophe that extinguished  

their national existence4 ,three hundred
 years of servitude in the              
indiscriminate mass of ,indian serfs has
 blotted out every feeling of           
nationality4 ,a few vagabonds among them
 still claim royal descent1 and1 by     
virtue of their blood or their          
imposture1 pretend to exercise1 in      
obscure villages1 an undefined          
jurisdiction over ,indians as oppressed 
as themselves4 ,but the characteristics 
of the ,north ,american ,indians are    
still visible2 they still exhibit the   
contradictory traits of ,indian         
character--cruelty and kindness1 shyness
 and self-possession2 enduring the      
greatest trials without a murmur1 and   
suffering oppression without complaint2 
delighting as much as their northern    
brethren in tawdry exhibitions1 in      
traditions of the marvelous1 they seem  
to carry hidden in their inmost soul an 
idea that the time will come when they  
may take vengeance of the despoilers of 
their race4 ,they have the ,indian's    

love of adventure and want of courage4  
,they delight rather in a successful    
stratagem than in open hostility1 and   
deem no act of treachery dishonorable by
 which they can gain an advantage4      
,still1 they have less romance in their 
composition than the unenslaved northern
 ,indians1 into whose souls the iron of 
despotism has never entered4   ,,the    
,,aztecs ,,and ,,their ,,historians4    
,the great difference between what is   
recorded of the ,north ,american ,indian
 and the ,aztec is owing less to any    
difference in themselves than to the    
character of the historians who have    
written of them4 ,the northern writers  
were not carried away by the romance of 
,indian life2 they were matter-of-fact  
men1 and they drew only matter-of-fact  
pictures4 ,spanish historians1 and all  
early ,spanish writers upon ,new ,spain1
 except the two brigands1 ,cortez and   
,diaz1 were priests4 ,with them1 truth  
was not an essential part of history4   
,by the law of all countries1 the       

,conquistadors had outlawed themselves  
by levying unlicensed war2 but as they  
bore a painting of the ,virgin ,mary on 
one of their standards and the cross on 
the other1 it would be impiety to place 
their conduct in its true light4 ,las   
,casas was an exception1 and endured    
persecution for speaking the truth4 ,he 
had powerful enemies1 was all that his  
apologist dare say1 because he spake the
 truth4 ,and if we add to this the      
sevenfold censorship already described1 
my reader will agree with me that it is 
absurd to place confidence in records   
over which the ,inquisition exercised a 
surveillance4  ,the fabled ,aztec empire
 has almost passed from the traditions  
of the ,mexican ,indians4 ,the name of  
only one of their chiefs1 ,montezuma1   
remains among them1 and this name is    
affixed to almost every thing that has  
an ancient look and is in a dilapidated 
condition4 ,in my wanderings among them1
 ,i never rejected their proffers of    
rude hospitality1 and ,i have listened  

with pleasure to their wild traditions4 
,i soon found that1 like other ,indians1
 they draw from a supernatural          
dream-world the fortitude that enables  
them to bear without a murmur their hard
 lot in the present4 ,they readily      
embraced the superstitions of the       
,spaniards1 and rendered to the virgin  
of ,guadalupe the adoration they had    
formerly bestowed upon their own gods4  
,their conversion may be summed up in   
the words of ,humboldt3 ,dogma has not  
succeeded to dogma1 but ceremony to     
ceremony4 ,the natives know nothing of  
religion but the external forms of      
worship4 ,fond of whatever is connected 
with a prescribed order of ceremonies1  
they find in the ,christian religion    
particular enjoyment4 ,the festivals of 
the ,church1 the fire-works with which  
they are accompanied1 the processions   
mingled with whimsical disguises1 are a 
most fertile source of amusement to the 
lower ,indians4   ,,the ,,valley ,,of   
,,mexico4  ,there has been a great deal 

of poetry and very little plain prose   
written about the valley of ,mexico4 ,at
 an early morning hour ,i stood upon the
 heights of ,rio ,frio2 at another      
morning1 as already said1 at the ,cross 
of the ,marquis2 again1 upon the highest
 peak of the ,tepeyaca1 behind          
,guadalupe1 ,i saw a tropical morning   
sun disengage itself from the snowy     
mountains4 ,from these three favored    
spots ,i have looked upon the valley1   
where dry land and pools of water seemed
 equally to compose the magnificent     
panorama4 ,immense mirrors of every     
conceivable shape and form were         
reflecting back the rays of the sun1    
while the green shores in which they    
were set enhanced the effect4 ,the white
 walls1 and domes1 and spires of the    
distant city heightened the effect of a 
picture that can only be fully          
appreciated by those who have looked    
downward through the pure atmosphere of 
such a lofty position2 but when ,i came 
down to the common level1 the charm was 

broken4 ,instead of lakelets and crystal
 springs1 ,i found only pools of        
surface-water which the rains had left2 
and the canals were but the ditches from
 which1 on either side1 the dirt had    
been taken to build the causeway through
 the marsh1 and were now covered with a 
coat of green4 ,these lakes have no     
outlet1 and as evaporation only takes up
 pure water1 all the animal1 vegetable1 
and mineral matter that is carried in is
 left to stagnate and putrefy in the    
ponds and ditches4  ,a practical man of 
the times1 with more common sense than  
poetry in his composition1 must grieve  
as he looks at the great advantages here
 possessed for drainage and irrigation  
which are unimproved4 ,there is not a   
spot in the whole valley that is not    
capable of the most perfect drainage1#bh
 while basins have been formed by nature
 in the highest points1 from which      
irrigation could be supplied to the     
whole valley2 but decay and             
neglect--fitting types of the social    

condition of the people--every where    
exhibit themselves4 ,water stands in all
 the narrow canals or ditches that      
occupy the middle of the streets1 for   
the want simply of a sewer to draw it   
down to the level of the ,tezcuco4 ,once
 a year the flags are taken off from the
 covered ditches1 and the mud is dipped 
out1 while a bundle of hay1 tied to the 
tail of a dirt-cart1 is daily dragged   
through the open ones4  ,i have spoken  
only of the lower division of this      
valley--the valley in which the city    
stands4 ,if we consider the two partly  
separated valleys as one1 the whole will
 constitute an oval basin #ge miles long
 from north to south1 with an average   
width from east to west of #bj miles4   
,two thirds of the southern valley is a 
marsh1 and might well be called the     
,montezuma ,marsh1 it so strikingly     
resembles the marsh of that name in the 
,state of ,new ,york1 though the whole  
body of ponds and marshes of this valley
 contains much less water than its      

northern namesake4 ,the stage-road from 
,vera ,cruz crosses this marsh for      
fourteen miles1 and has a great number  
of small stone bridges1 beneath which   
the water runs with considerable current
 toward the north1 on account of the    
difference of level between the southern
 fresh-water ponds and the lower        
salt-water ponds1 as in the days of     
,cortez4 ,there are occasional dry      
spots1 and now and then there is open   
water2 but the greater portion is filled
 with marsh grass1 and furnishes good   
feeding for the droves of cattle that   
daily frequent it for that purpose4 ,the
 ancient village of ,mexicalzingo1 or   
,little ,mexico1 the traditional home of
 the ,aztecs before they built ,mexico1 
is situated on one of the dry spots1    
slightly elevated above the level of the
 fresh water2 and on another dry spot or
 island1 six miles distant1 stands the  
famous city of ,mexico itself1 resting  
on piles driven into a foundation of    
soft earth4 ,the canal of ,chalco       

commences at the northerly extremity of 
the ,xochimulco1 and1 passing by        
,mexicalzingo and the floating gardens1 
continues along the eastern front of the
 city1 and empties itself into the salt 
7tequisquite7 pond of ,tezcuco1 having  
received as a tributary the canal of    
,tacubaya1 which passes along the       
southern boundary of the city4   ,,the  
,,lakes ,,of ,,the ,,valley4  ,the      
highest water of the valley of the city 
of ,mexico is the pond of ,chalco1 in   
the extreme southeast1 being #d-h_/ab   
feet above the level of the ,grand      
,plaza of the city1 and #bj miles       
distant therefrom1 and #aa-b_/ab feet   
above ,tezcuco2#bi but its volume being 
small for the last #djj years1 the      
slight impediments of long grass and a  
few ,indian dikes have prevented any    
injury to the city by a too rapid flow  
to the northward4 ,xochimulco is the    
pond1 or open space in the marsh1 that  
extends from the ,chalco to near        
,mexicalzingo4 ,tezcuco is the lowest   

water in the valley1 being #f-a_/b feet 
below the ,grand ,plaza of the city4#cj 
,it receives the surplus of the waters  
that have not already been evaporated in
 the other ponds4 ,at this great        
elevation1 #gejj feet1 evaporation does 
its work rapidly all over the valley1   
but it is in ,tezcuco that the residuum 
of the waters is deposited4        #bh  
,report of ,m4 ,l4 ,smith1 ,lieutenant  
of ,topographical       ,engineers1     
,united ,states ,army4        #bi       
,lieut4 ,smith's ,report4        #cj    
,ibid4     ,,chapter ,,xv4  ,the two    
,valleys4--,the ,lake with a leaky      
,bottom4--,the ,water could not have    
been higher4--,nor could the ,lagunas or
 ,ponds have been much deeper4--,the    
,brigantines only flat-bottomed         
,boats4--,the ,causeway ,canals fix the 
size of the ,brigantines4--,the ,street 
,canals4--,stagnant ,water unfit for    
,canals4--,the probable ,dimensions of  
the ,city ,canals4--,difficulties of    
disproving a ,fiction4--,a ,dike or     

,levee4--,the ,canal of                 
,huehuetoca4--,the ,map of              
,cortez4--,wise ,provision of           
,providence4--,the ,fiction about the   
numerous ,cities in and about the ,lake4
   ,it may be well here to repeat that1 
strictly speaking1 there are two valleys
 of ,mexico--the upper northern valley1 
and the valley of the city of ,mexico2  
the first extends in an oval form to the
 north of the hills of ,tepeyaca1 some  
sixty miles1 and communicates with the  
plains of ,otumba and ,apam4 ,in this   
valley are the two ponds1 or lagunas1 of
 ,zumpango and ,san ,cristobal1 the     
highest waters of ,mexico2 and in it    
also is the half of the ,tezcuco1 which 
is the lowest laguna of the valleys4 ,it
 is a country of fine farming lands1 and
 was probably inhabited long before the 
time of the arrival of the ,aztecs in   
the lower valley1 as ,i infer from its  
proximity to the extensive ruins of     
,teotihuican1 that have come down from a
 remote and highly-civilized antiquity4 

,,the ,,ancient ,,lakes4  ,the valley of
 the city of ,mexico1 which lies to the 
south of these hills1 is also of an oval
 shape1 but is not more than twenty     
miles in extent4 ,the surface-water with
 which it is saturated is in part fresh1
 and in other parts tequisquite2 that   
is1 where the waters have a current1    
they are fresh2 but where they remain   
from year to year discharging their     
volume only by evaporation1 then they   
become infused with the saline          
properties of the soil1#ca and all about
 them is marked with barrenness4 ,if the
 process of evaporation was less intense
 than it is1#cb all vegetation would die
 from the extreme humidity of the soil2 
as the gardener's phrase is1 it would   
rot4 ,even in the city of ,mexico       
itself1 a couple of feet of digging in  
its alluvial foundation brings you to   
the water-level in the dry season1 and  
seventy or eighty yards of boring does  
not carry you beyond the perceptible    
influence of tequisquite4#cc ,the       

effects of this law of evaporation      
puzzled the ,aztecs1 who were1 of       
course1 ignorant of all philosophical   
principles1 and could only account for  
the disappearance of the immense mass of
 water that fell in the valley in the   
wet season1 upon the hypothesis that the
 ,tezcuco had a leaky bottom1 or that   
there was a hole in the lake--an idea   
that thousands in ,mexico credit to the 
present day4 ,this was the origin of    
that absurd story which ,cortez repeats 
in his letters1 that this lake          
communicated with the sea1 and had its  
daily tides4  ,there could not have been
 a much greater volume of water in this 
marshy valley in the time of ,cortez    
than at present1 if the whole           
accumulations of each year were to be   
carried off by evaporation alone from so
 small a surface as is here presented   
for the sun to act upon4 ,but as the    
volume of water is the turning-point in 
the history or fable of the conquest1 ,i
 must adduce the proofs and arguments   

that are at hand to establish this      
statement4 ,the level of the water could
 not have been higher1 it is clear1 for 
in that case neither ,mexico1           
,mexicalzingo1 or ,iztapalapan could    
have been inhabited4  ,cortez's account 
of deep waters has often been made      
plausible by adding the hypothesis that 
the accumulating mud of centuries has   
filled up the lakes1 so that they now   
are only shallow ponds4 ,but this by no 
means removes the difficulty1 for then1 
as now1 the waters of the southern      
laguna flowed into ,tezcuco1 conveying  
with them the infinitesimal infusion of 
tequisquite that had instilled itself   
into the ,chalco4 ,had the volume of    
,chalco and ,xochimulco been increased  
several feet1 then the slight ,indian   
barriers and the long grass would no    
longer have been able to retard the     
progress of the water till evaporation  
had diminished its quantity1 but1       
precipitating itself in a mass into the 
,tezcuco1 it would have overwhelmed the 

town of ,tezcuco and all other villages 
upon the shores1 and established an     
equilibrium of surface in the two ponds4
  ,all the lagunas1 canals1 and ditches 
that have been described are navigated  
by small scows that draw but a few      
inches of water1 which are the medium of
 an extensive internal commerce4        
,through the lagunas and canal of       
,chalco come from ,cuatla all the       
supplies of the products of the hot     
country for the city and surrounding    
region4 ,this commerce exceeds the whole
 foreign trade of the republic4#cd ,this
 kind of boat was probably introduced by
 ,cortez1 and in this convenient form   
his thirteen brigantines were probably  
made2 for1 had his brigantines been of a
 larger draught of water1 they could not
 have navigated canals intended only for
 ,indian canoes4 ,one of these vessels1 
when supplied with a sail1 a cannon1 and
 a movable keel or side-board1 would be 
a formidable auxiliary in an assault    
upon the city at the present day4 ,and  

if one such scow was placed in the ditch
 on each side of the southern causeway1 
as ,cortez alleges1 it would enable an  
assailing enemy to present just so much 
more front as the additional width of   
two boats would give him4   ,,the       
,,causeways ,,and ,,canals4  ,writers   
have expressed their surprise at the    
existence of two navigable canals to    
each causeway1 one on either side1 as an
 immense expenditure of unnecessary     
labor4 ,the explanation of this is found
 in the fact that in the construction of
 a pathway 7for ,cortez says that it was
 only #cj feet in width7 through wet and
 marshy ground1 a broad ditch is        
ordinarily made on either side to obtain
 earth for the embankment1 and to keep  
the water-level permanently below the   
top of the pathway4 ,so it is1 and so it
 must always have been at ,mexico1 in   
order to keep these foot-paths in       
traveling condition4 ,in the dry season1
 which is the winter1 these broad       
ditches are covered with floating       

islands of green scum2 but in the rainy 
season1 which is the summer1 they may be
 navigated by the shallow ,mexican      
scows4 ,a pathway of earth thirty feet  
in width could not endure the winds and 
waves of a navigable lake1 or the wear  
and swash of a canal twelve feet deep on
 either side2 and the fact that ,cortez 
navigated the ditches in the rainy      
season establishes the insignificant    
size of his famous brigantines4  ,as the
 level of the surface of the land and   
the surface of the water at             
,mexicalzingo1 at ,mexico1 and at the   
village ,tezcuco1 does not materially   
vary now from what it was in the time of
 ,cortez1 if we can take for data the   
foundations of the church built by the  
,conquistadors at these several places1 
we shall have to look to another quarter
 for a supply of water for the city     
canals1 which were sufficiently         
capacious for canoe navigation4 ,this   
supply we readily obtain by allowing the
 waters of the canals ,tacubaya and     

,chalco to pass through the streets of  
the city in ditches sufficiently large  
for canoes1 instead of passing along the
 south and east fronts outside4 ,by this
 hypothesis we obtain a current1 a      
prerequisite to the very idea of a      
canal1 particularly in the streets of a 
city4  ,the savans of ,europe have shown
 their profound ignorance of the first  
principles of canal navigation in taking
 it for granted that the canals of      
,mexico were filled with stagnant water1
 that had set back from the stagnant    
pond of ,tezcuco2 and that the level of 
the pond must at all times have been so 
high as to fill the canals1 thus keeping
 the city in constant danger from any   
sudden rise in the laguna4 ,but1 aside  
from the rules of canal construction1   
there is an important sanitary question 
involved4 ,the present ditches in the   
middle of the streets1 though they have 
a perceptible current1 and a slight     
infusion of tequisquite1 are an         
intolerable nuisance1 and have a        

deleterious effect upon the public      
health4 ,how much more so must they have
 been when1 from the uncleanly habits of
 the ,indians1 they were the common     
receptacle of all kinds of filth1 and   
were constantly stirred up to their very
 bottoms by the setting-poles of the    
navigators8 ,the system of canalling is 
a system of slack-water navigation1 but 
abhors stagnant water4  ,we come next to
 the question of the dimensions of these
 street canals4 ,we know that they were 
intended only for the navigation of     
,indian canoes2 that two of them1 which 
intersected the causeway of the night   
retreat1 ,cortez crossed with his army1 
all of them climbing down into the      
canal1 wading across1 and then climbing 
up on the other side while loaded with  
their armor1 and fighting all the time  
against a superior force of the ,aztecs2
 and that ,alvarado actually leaped     
across one of the openings1 shows       
conclusively that the canals could not  
have more than equaled in breadth the   

present canal of ,chalco4 ,on the       
hypothesis that ,cortez used scows that 
drew no more water than the scows that  
at present navigate the canals1 his     
story becomes credible1 so far1 at      
least1 as the possibility of making the 
circuit of the city in large boats in a 
season of rains4   ,,truth ,,against    
,,fiction4  ,it is an ungracious task to
 sift truth from fables4 ,one man is    
displeased at seeing held up as a       
fiction a narrative which he has been   
accustomed to read with pleasure1 and to
 take for truth1 because it was         
elegantly written2 and he requires an   
accumulation of proofs and arguments    
before he will abandon a belief which he
 has adopted without evidence4 ,another 
man1 who deals only in matters of fact1 
is easily convinced1 and is annoyed at  
an accumulation of proofs and arguments 
where one is sufficient4 ,the           
superstitious man can not1 of course1 be
 convinced1 for his belief does not rest
 upon evidence2 and he is indignant that

 an attempt should be made to detract   
from the glory obtained by the ,virgin  
,mary and the ,church in this victory   
over the infidels4 ,had ,i attempted to 
prove that the feather which is now     
preserved with so much care in the      
,church of ,san ,juan de ,lateran at    
,rome did not fall from the wing of the 
angel ,gabriel when he came to announce 
to ,mary her conception1 and that the   
whole history of that feather was a     
fable1 notwithstanding it has received  
the attestations of so many of the ,holy
 ,fathers1 ,i should be cursed for my   
impiety no more than ,i shall be for    
raising the question of the authenticity
 of the histories of the ,conquest4     
,with all these difficulties before me1 
,i will venture to add one or two more  
reasons that have induced me to doubt   
the existence of those famous           
brigantines1 which required a depth of  
twelve feet of water4  ,in support of   
the hypothesis that the street ditches1 
called canals1 were independent of the  

,tezcuco for their supply1 we have still
 the remains of an old ,indian dike1    
which extended from near ,iztapalapan1  
along the east part of the city1 to     
,guadalupe or ,tepeyaca1 which must have
 been intended to shut off the ,tezcuco 
when the water was high1 and when it    
receded they probably opened a weir at  
the northern extremity1 through which   
the waters of the city that had been    
discharged upon the flats of ,san       
,lazaro found an outlet4  ,the waters of
 the valley are now distributed in the  
best possible manner to favor           
evaporation2 and yet so completely is   
this power taxed1 that when1 in #afbi1 a
 water-spout1 bursting over the small   
river ,guautitlan1 had forced the waters
 of ,zumpango over its barriers into the
 ,san ,cristobal1 and that again into   
the ,tezcuco1 the city was inundated to 
the depth of about three feet4          
,evaporation was unable to remove or    
materially lessen this new volume of    
water in a period of five years4 ,this  

fully demonstrates that the average     
annual fall of water is equal to the    
full capacity of evaporation4 ,the      
valley of ,mexico is a very small one   
over which to dispose of the mass of    
water that the mountain-torrents in     
summer and the tropical rains pour into 
it1 and with the small margin of six and
 a half feet for rising and falling1 the
 city must have been in constant        
jeopardy4 ,still the floods have been   
much less frequent than would have been 
supposed1 fully demonstrating the great 
uniformity in the fall of water in the  
,mexican season of rain4 ,when a        
water-spout occurred in the ,chalco in  
#addf1 in the time of the ,aztec kings1 
there was a flood1 which probably ran   
off into the ,tezcuco4 ,under the       
,spaniards the following floods are     
enumerated3 the first in #aeec2 the     
second in #aehj2 the third in #afjd2 the
 fourth in #afjg2 the fifth in #afbi4   
,after the flood of #afjg1 the tunnel of
 ,huehuetoca was undertaken1 and        

constructed in eleven months1 for the   
purpose of letting out of the valley the
 waters of the ,river ,guautitlan1 so as
 to prevent it from falling into        
,tezcuco or flooding the city4 ,for     
those times it was a great work1 but we 
should say now that it was poorly       
engineered and badly managed1 and not   
worthy the notice it has received in    
books on ,mexico4 ,since that time1 the 
great inundation of #afbi occurred while
 the mouth of the tunnel was closed4    
,after that time1 the ,spaniards1       
instead of building inside of the tunnel
 an elliptical tube1 actually1 by a     
hundred years of misapplied labor1      
turned the tunnel into an open cut4     
,,the ,,map ,,of ,,cortez4  ,cortez     
furnished a map to illustrate his       
description4 ,this map has the same     
defect as his narrative2 that is1 it was
 untrue at the time he made it4 ,in     
order to bring ,tezcuco about the city1 
he places the village of that name due  
east of ,mexico1 although he well knew  

that it was nearly north1 as the two    
towns are distinctly in sight1 although 
at a distance of about six leagues4     
,now1 if we carry the village of        
,tezcuco and the shore of the lake with 
it to its correct position1 we shall    
have the ,laguna of ,tezcuco in about   
its present form and size4 ,the apology 
for his defeat at ,iztapalapan1 by the  
breaking open of the dike and letting in
 the salt water1 is1 of course1         
inadequate1 as the dike could not have  
supported a head of water sufficient to 
drown his men1 nor could so great a head
 of salt water be obtained at that      
point4  ,in this survey of the ponds of 
,mexico1 ,i have drawn upon the         
experience which has been acquired in   
the process of evaporation at the       
extensive salt manufactories of         
,syracuse and the surrounding villages  
in ,western ,new ,york1 and also the    
experience of our engineers ,upon the   
,erie ,canal1 and the engineers upon the
 dikes or levees at ,sacramento1 where  

the nature of the soil resembles that of
 ,mexico4 ,and ,i may now conclude this 
long survey of the canals and lagunas of
 ,mexico1 by saying that it is a wise   
provision of ,providence that all bodies
 of water that have no outlet are found 
to contain a considerable infusion of   
salt1 otherwise their accumulations of  
decaying matter would be such that      
mankind could not live in their         
vicinity4 ,this valley is an            
illustration of that truth4 ,tezcuco1   
surrounded by barrenness1 is not        
deleterious to life1 while the          
fresh-water lagunas1 though continually 
changing their volume1 render ,mexico   
unhealthy in summer by the gases which  
they exhale from decaying vegetation4   
,,ancient ,,population ,,of ,,the       
,,valley4  ,i have pretty thoroughly    
described this small valley1 and have   
also stated how large a portion of it is
 flooded with surface-water1 and how    
large a portion of this water is infused
 with salt4 ,in the vicinity of         

,tacubaya the land is remarkably        
fertile1 and there is good tillable land
 as the mountains are approached1       
especially about ,chalco on the         
southeast2 but under ,indian            
cultivation1 the whole of this valley   
could have produced sustenance for only 
an extremely limited population1 if the 
product of the floating gardens and the 
ducks caught upon the pond should be    
added4 ,it is totally inadequate to feed
 the population of ,mexico under the    
vice-kings1 #djj1jjj1 or its present    
population of say #cjj1jjj2 nor could   
the valley itself be made to sustain one
 third of this4 ,this valley1 it must be
 recollected1 is inclosed on all sides  
except the north by mountains that      
exceed #aj1jjj feet in height1 while the
 commissariat capacity of barbaric      
tribes is not such as to provide        
extensive supplies from a distance4     
,under such circumstances1 we should    
look for an extremely limited           
population4 ,yet the most surprising    

part of the story of the conquest is the
 enormous population assigned to the    
numerous large cities which they allege 
the valley contained4 ,diaz says1 ,a    
series of large towns stretched         
themselves along the banks of the lake1 
out of which the lake still larger ones 
rose magnificently above the water4     
,cortez says that ,iztapalapan contained
 #aj1jjj families1 which would give the 
town #ej1jjj inhabitants2 ,amaqueruca1  
#bj1jjj inhabitants2 ,mexicalzingo1     
#cjjj families1 or #ae1jjj inhabitants2 
,ayciaca more than #fjjj families2      
,huchilohuchico1 #ejjj or #fjjj4 ,the   
population of ,chalco he does not give1 
nor the population of the very numerous 
villages whose names he mentions4 ,at   
the present day there are a few mud huts
 in nearly every locality named1 but not
 enough in any one instance to merit the
 name of a village4 ,and this1 ,i am    
inclined to believe1 was the real       
condition of things in the time of      
,cortez4 ,the city of ,mexico alone     

would have exhausted the limited        
resources of the valley4 ,old ,thomas   
,gage was as much puzzled two hundred   
years ago to account for this           
astonishing disappearance of the        
numerous ,indian cities of this valley  
as we are1 and also for the supposed    
filling up of the lakes1 never appearing
 to suspect that the story of ,cortez   
was a fiction4        #ca ,there has    
been much speculation in regard to the  
origin of       the saline properties of
 this water2 but the ,artesian borings  
going on while ,i was in ,mexico1 ,i    
think1 sufficiently demonstrate         
that the earthy bottom of the valley1   
for hundreds of feet1       contains an 
infusion of carbonate and muriate of    
soda4        #cb ,the atmosphere of     
,mexico is so intensely dry1 that the   
hygrometer of ,deluc frequently descends
 to #ae deg44--,,humboldt',s            
,essai ,politique1 vol4 ii4 p4 #aaj4    
#cc ,when the ,artesian well1 in process
 of construction near my                

residence1 had reached a depth of       
seventy yards1 the water that       came
 up was slightly impregnated with this  
salt4        #cd ,comercio de ,mexico1  
#aheb4     ,,chapter ,,xvi4  ,the       
,chinampas or ,water ,gardens4--,laws of
 ,nature not set aside4--,mud will not  
float4--,the present ,chinampas4--,they 
never could have been floating          
,gardens4--,relations of the ,chinampas 
to the ancient ,state of the ,lake in   
the ,valley4   ,all the world has heard 
of the floating gardens 7chinampas7 of  
,mexico1 but all the world has not seen 
them4 ,i have not seen any floating     
gardens1 nor1 on diligent inquiry1 have 
,i been able to find a man1 woman1 or   
child that ever has seen them1 nor do ,i
 believe that such a thing as a floating
 garden ever existed at ,mexico4        
,humboldt admits that they do exist2    
says that he has seen floating earthy   
masses of great size in the tropical    
rivers1 and then describes the manner of
 the construction of the chinampas1 but 

in such a way as to satisfy the careful 
reader that he does not intend to say   
that he saw them himself1 and evidently 
makes his statement upon hearsay2 and   
takes it up as an admitted fact1 without
 having his mind called to the physical 
impossibilities of floating a mass of   
earth that was of a greater specific    
gravity than water4   ,,faith ,,and     
,,testimony4  ,when the historians of   
the ,conquest wrote their marvelous     
narratives of alleged adventures and of 
the new empire1 it was a question for   
the ,emperor and the ,inquisition       
solely1 whether their writings should   
pass for history or be condemned as     
fabulous4 ,with this question the people
 had nothing to do but to believe as it 
suited those in authority4 ,the question
 being settled that the publication of  
the letters of ,cortez as a verity would
 redound to the glory of the ,church and
 the king1 then it was also settled that
 there should be no contradiction       
published2 and as these marvelous tales 

were spread abroad throughout ,europe1  
with the masses of silver from the      
newly-discovered mines1 men were        
prepared to believe almost any          
thing--even that rich vegetable mould1  
when saturated with water1 could float4 
,it not being lawful to promulgate the  
facts of the ,conquest1 the memory of   
events that really transpired ultimately
 passed from the recollections of men1  
so that the letters of ,cortez were     
taken for truth1 even in their most     
minute details2 so that1 in a subsequent
 century1 we find a vice-king employing 
an engineer to search for and clean out 
the hole in the bottom of the ,tezcuco6 
for1 from the vice-king down to the most
 insignificant official1 all assumed    
that the letters of ,cortez gave a      
correct picture of affairs at that time2
 and all showed the greatest            
embarrassment in accounting for the     
magnitude of the changes that are       
supposed to have occurred without a     
sufficiently adequate cause4 ,it is a   

common difficulty in all purely         
,catholic countries1 for there the rule 
of evidence is an unnatural one4 ,the   
people have been taught to believe from 
their infancy that the laws of nature   
can be set aside upon every trifling    
occasion1 at the momentary caprice of   
any one of the multitude of saints who  
are to govern the world2 and on proof   
that any mortal has set aside the laws  
of nature or wrought a miracle1 he at   
once becomes a saint4 ,with these       
dutiful children of the ,church there   
can be no fixed laws of evidence2 the   
only ground of belief is1 and ever must 
be1 ,has the statement been sanctioned  
by the highest authority8 ,if so1 it is 
true2 if not1 it is to be doubted1      
however positive the proofs may be4 ,a  
difficulty that the traveler every where
 encounters is that he can believe      
nothing that he hears1 even on the most 
trifling subject1 without careful       
examination and weighing of testimony4  
,as he can not examine every thing      

himself1 he is constantly liable to be  
imposed upon by taking for granted that 
which is every where affirmed4 ,humboldt
 for once1 with all his caution1 seems  
to have fallen into the common trap1 and
 credited1 without examination1 the     
story of the floating gardens4   ,,the  
,,chinampas4  ,the chinampas are formed 
on the fresh-water mud on each side of  
the canal of ,chalco1 from the southeast
 corner of the city to a point near the 
ancient village of ,mexicalzingo1 and   
for a part of the way they are on both  
sides of that beautiful but now         
neglected paseo1 ,las ,vegas2 there are 
also a small number near the causeway of
 ,tacubaya1 and in other parts of the   
marsh2 their number might be extended   
without limit if it was not regulated by
 the demands of the vegetable market of 
,mexico4 ,chinampas are formed by laying
 upon the soft mud a very thick coating 
of reeds1 or rather rushes1 in the form 
and about the size of one of our largest
 canal scows4 ,between two chinampas a  

space of about half the width of one is 
left1 and from this open space the mud  
is dipped up and poured upon the bed of 
dry rushes1 where it dries1 and forms a 
rich muck soil1 which constitutes the   
garden4 ,as the specific gravity of this
 garden is much greater than that of the
 water1 or of the substratum of mud and 
water combined1 it gradually sinks down 
into its muddy foundation2 and in a few 
years it has to be rebuilt by laying    
upon the top of the garden a new coating
 of rushes and another covering of mud4 
,thus they have been going on for       
centuries1 one garden being placed upon 
the top of another1 and a third placed  
over all1 so soon as the second gives   
signs of being swallowed up in the      
all-devouring mud4  ,the gardeners      
navigate the open space between their   
islands with light boats2 and during the
 short hours of the morning1 the        
market-boat alongside each island is    
loaded with a cargo of vegetables1      
fruits1 and flowers1 which are to be    

displayed in the great market of ,santa 
,anna4 ,more pleasing than a drive on   
the paseo is a boat-ride down the canal 
of ,chalco at eventide1 when the        
proprietor of each of these little      
estates is seen standing in the canal   
alongside1 and throwing upon his thirsty
 plants a plentiful supply of the tepid 
canal water1 which1 from every leaf and 
flower1 reflects back the rays of a     
setting sun1 that have penetrated the   
long shadows of the trees of ,las       
,vegas4 ,some of the chinampas have     
small huts upon them1 where a gardener  
lives1 who watches over two or three of 
these little properties4 ,sometimes also
 shrubs1 and even trees1 are planted    
along the edges1 which yield both fruits
 and flowers1 and serve to keep the dry 
earth from falling into the water4 ,when
 looking at one of the largest and best 
cared for chinampas1 the beholder can   
hardly divest himself of the idea that  
it is a floating island1 and might well 
have been the residence of ,calypso4    

,this is the whole of the story of the  
chinampas1 the most fertile and         
beautiful little gardens upon the face  
of the earth4 ,a correct picture of them
 would be poetry enough1 without the    
addition of falsehood2 for whether it is
 the rainy season or the dry season1 it 
is always the same to them4 ,they know  
no exclusive seed-time1 and have no     
especial season for harvest2 but        
blossoms and ripe fruits grow side by   
side1 and flowers flourish at all       
seasons4 ,as market gardens they are    
unrivaled1 and to them ,mexico is       
indebted for its abundant supplies4     
,the evidence that ,humboldt#ce produces
 in favor of floating gardens1 viz41    
that he saw floating islands of some #cj
 feet in length in the midst of the     
current of rivers1 amounts to little in 
this case2 for every one that has       
traveled extensively in tropical        
lowlands has seen vegetation spring up  
upon floating masses of brush-wood4     
,where earth torn from the river bank is

 so bound together by living roots as to
 form a raft1 it will always float for a
 little while upon the current1 provided
 that its specific gravity does not     
materially exceed that of the water2 and
 those grasses that flourish best in    
water will spring up and grow upon these
 islands4 ,peat1 too1 in bogs1 will     
float and form islands1 for the simple  
reason that it is of less specific      
gravity than water2 and vegetation will 
also spring up on these peat islands4   
,but all this furnishes no evidence that
 the invariable law of nature1 which    
carries to the bottom the heaviest body1
 has been suspended at ,mexico4 ,had the
 floating gardens been built in large   
boats made water-tight1 they might have 
floated4 ,but1 unfortunately1 the       
,indians had not the means for          
constructing such boats4 ,even          
timber-rafts would have become saturated
 in time1 and sunk1 as rafts of logs do 
if kept too long in the mill-pond1      
waiting to be sawed into lumber4  ,there

 is another law of nature1 which must   
not be lost sight of1 which is at war   
with the idea of a garden floating on a 
bed of rushes2 and that is capillary    
attraction1 which would raise particles 
of water1 one by one1 among the fibres  
of the rushes until the frail raft on   
which the earth rested was saturated2   
and still pressing upward1 the busy     
drops would penetrate the superincumbent
 earth1 moistening and adding to the    
specific gravity of the garden by       
filling the porous earth until it became
 too heavy to float1 if it ever had     
floated4  ,nearly three hundred years   
had passed away before men ventured to  
question the truth of the statement that
 the gardens along the canal of ,chalco 
ever floated1 and then it seemed like   
temerity to raise the question1 even if 
it were only a popular fallacy4 ,it has 
therefore been treated by all modern    
writers as a well-established matter1   
and one of not sufficient importance to 
justify its minute investigation4 ,with 

me the question was a far different one4
 ,i had1 after careful inquiry and      
observation1 come to the conclusion that
 the marshes of the valley of ,mexico   
were1 in the time of ,cortez1           
substantially in the condition in which 
we find them at the present day2 that   
the filling up they had undergone in    
that time was counterbalanced by the    
relief they had gained by the canal of  
,huehuetoca4 ,the chinampas constitute  
an important link in the chain of proofs
 to establish this fact4 ,if ,i have    
succeeded in showing that these gardens 
of the ,aztecs1 instead of floating upon
 the water1 rested upon the muddy       
bottom1 it follows as a matter of course
 that the depth of the water in the     
laguna could not1 in the day of the     
,aztecs1 have been materially greater   
than it now is4        #ce ,essai       
,politique1 vol4 ii4 p4 #fa4            
,,chapter ,,xvii4  ,the gambling        
,festival of ,san                       
,augustine4--,suppressed by             

,government4--,the ,losses of the ,saint
 by the ,suppression of ,gambling4--,how
 ,travelers live in the ,interior4--,a  
,visit to the ,palace4   ,,gambling ,,at
 ,,tlalpan4  ,i have already said that  
my first entry into the valley of       
,mexico was from the south1 through the 
suburban city of ,tlalpan1 where in good
 old times was held the great gambling  
festival of ,san ,augustine4 ,the       
advancing morality of our day has put an
 extinguisher on this noted festival1   
which was one of the most noted days in 
the ,mexican calendar4 ,crowds flocked  
to it to gamble1 to dance1 and to adore 
the most holy ,saint ,augustine4 ,to a  
looker-on it was hard to say whether it 
was the devil or the saint whom the     
people had come to worship4 ,the chief  
business of high-born dames seemed to be
 to make a display of their taste in    
dress1 and to set off the whole contents
 of their wardrobe2 for five times in   
each day was their entire wardrobe      
changed1 and so often did they appear in

 a new set of jewels4 ,to this festival 
came also noblemen and highway robbers1 
to gamble and to rob each other1 and to 
be robbed by the women at the monte     
table4 ,in honor of the saint1 the city 
was crowded with monks1 and thieves1 and
 ,magdalens1 and the dignitaries of the 
,church and state4 ,the rich and the    
poor came together to enjoy the         
saturnalia in honor of the most blessed 
,saint ,augustine4 ,gambling was here   
duly sanctified by the participation of 
the priests1 who were here1 as they are 
every where in ,mexico1 the most expert 
gamblers at the tables4 ,while this     
festival continued1 money changed hands 
more rapidly than in ,california in her 
worst days4 ,five dances a day were the 
pastime2 but at the monte table was the 
solid sport4 ,this was the great        
attraction that had called all the crowd
 together4 ,it was an exciting scene to 
see the ounces piled up as men got      
excited in the game4 ,what is there left
 of woman's virtue1 when the highest    

ladies of the court stake their ounces  
at a public gaming-table1 and poorer    
ones eagerly throw down their last piece
 of silver8 ,woman's rights have not yet
 reached that point with us that she may
 gamble and get drunk without losing    
caste2 and ,god grant they never may4   
,it is a consolation to be able to add  
that the late government of the ,state  
of ,mexico had sufficient firmness to   
suppress this abominable festival of the
 ,church1 much to the pecuniary         
disadvantage of the saint and his       
priesthood4 ,indeed1 there is now no    
public gambling1 not even in the city of
 ,mexico1 except the lottery of the     
,academy of ,fine ,arts1 and the lottery
 which is monthly drawn to promote the  
adoration of our ,lady of ,guadalupe4   
,this last is one of the most corrupting
 of all lotteries4 ,tickets for as small
 a price as a ,spanish shilling are     
hawked about the street1 and by the     
exhibition of a splendid scheme the poor
 ,indians are tempted to venture their  

last real in the hopes of winning a rich
 prize1 through the kind interposition  
of the ,virgin1 to whom they are taught 
to pray for that purpose4 ,it is true   
that a mass is performed for the benefit
 of all losers1 but this mass has never 
had the power of restoring to the poor  
,indian his lost shilling4  ,let us now 
go from this place1 where gambling used 
annually to have its festival1 or1      
rather1 harvest of victims1 into the    
cathedral church of ,san ,augustine1 to 
whom the lucky gamblers were accustomed 
to dedicate a part of their winnings1   
that thus they might sanctify their     
unrighteous calling by bringing robbery 
to the saint for an offering4 ,poor     
saint6 how much he and his priests have 
suffered by this wanton interference of 
the civil government in ,church         
affairs--this prohibition of            
monte-playing in honor of the festival  
of ,san ,augustine6 ,there was much in  
this church to admire1 and much of that 
gold displayed which gamblers are       

accustomed to lavish upon their idols4  
,it seemed like another worship and     
another religion from that which ,i had 
been accustomed to witness in the humble
 chapels of the ,pintos1 in whose       
country ,i had so long been wandering4  
,again ,i was in the saddle1 and soon   
upon that noted causeway by which       
,cortez entered the city of ,mexico4 ,it
 has lost none of its attractions in the
 course of centuries1 but has been kept 
in fine repair as a carriage-road1 while
 the venerable trees that line it on    
either side look as old as the time of  
the ,conquistadors4 ,this noble         
carriage-way1 through the marshy ground 
of the valley of ,mexico1 is an         
enlargement of the old causeway of the  
,indians1 or1 rather1 it has been built 
over and around it1 that having been    
less than thirty feet in width4 ,i soon 
arrived at ,churubusco1 the scene of one
 of the bloody battles of the ,american 
campaign in this valley4 ,there was     
little here to look at1 and ,i hurried  

on and entered the south gate of the    
city1 and soon arrived at the ,hotel de 
,paris1 to which ,i had been directed4  
,my poor old mustang here ended a twelve
 days' journey1 over mountains and      
plains of pedregal1 without a shoe to   
his hoofs4  ,a party of ,californians1  
who had been stopping here for some     
weeks1 had left the day before1 and ,i  
was ushered into ,french society1 in    
which to form my first impressions of   
,mexico4 ,still1 there was an exquisite 
pleasure in once more getting clean1 and
 eating food cooked after a civilized   
manner4 ,not that ,i had in any wise    
become tired of drinking porridge1      
extracted from corn1 called atola1 or   
dissatisfied with eating bits of fowl1  
which the maid of honor to ,general     
,garay so ingeniously served up with her
 fingers1 after having it well flavored 
with ,cayenne or ,chili pepper6 ,he that
 does not love ,chili must keep out of  
,spanish ,america4 ,and he will prove a 
poor traveler who can not sit down with 

a good appetite to a supper of small    
black beans 7frijoles71 and a dozen     
,indian cakes 7tortillas71 as thin and  
as tough as a drum-head1 which serve the
 double purpose of spoon and plate4     
,,abode ,,in ,,mexico4  ,my room was on 
the roof1 and when my inner and outer   
man was fully in order1 ,i used to walk 
till a late hour of the day upon the    
paved house-top1 now leaning against the
 parapet and looking up to the          
snow-covered mountains1 whose shadowy   
forms could be made out even by         
moonlight1 and upon the shadowy towers  
and domes of the city4 ,thus pleasant   
days and weeks flew on4 ,sometimes ,i   
rode about the valley1 carefully        
searching after the relics of times     
past1 and at other times surveying the  
curiosities of the city4 ,once this     
order was broken in upon1 in order to   
accompany that noble-hearted man and    
excellent embassador1 ,governor         
,letcher1 to the palace1 where ,i had an
 interview with ,arista1 then the       

,president of ,mexico1 who strikingly   
resembled our own ,president of that    
day1 ,millard ,fillmore4     ,,chapter  
,,xviii4  ,visit to ,contreras and ,san 
,angel4--,the ,end of a brave           
,soldier4--,a ,place of ,skulls4--,a    
,new ,england ,dinner4--,an ,adventure  
with ,robbers--doubtful4--,reasons for  
revisiting ,mexico4--,the ,battle at the
 ,mountain of ,crosses4--,a peculiar    
,variety of the ,cactus4--,three ,men   
gibbeted for robbing a ,bishop4---,a    
,court upon ,horseback4--,the retreat of
 ,cortez to ,otumba4--,a venerable      
,cypress ,grove4--,unexpectedly         
comfortable ,quarters4--,an ,english    
,dinner at ,tezcuco4--,pleasures unknown
 to the ,kings of ,tezcuco4--,relics of 
,tezcuco4--,the ,appearance of the      
,virgin ,mary at ,tezcuco4--,the        
,causeways of ,mexico4   ,a ,,ride ,,to 
,,san ,,angel4  ,the ride to ,san ,angel
 has this advantage over all others out 
of ,mexico1 that the road is nearly all 
the way upon dry land1 thus presenting a

 pleasant contrast to the gloominess of 
all the others1 except the ,tacuba road4
 ,there is less of stagnant water1 and  
little appearance of tequisquite4 ,it is
 lined with fields of corn and maguey4  
,contreras is upon this road--the point 
where ,santa ,anna's line of defenses   
was first broken1 and broken in the same
 way as at ,cerro ,gordo1 and by the    
same officer1 the late ,general ,riley4 
,it was the defect of all ,mexican      
military operations1 that they were not 
sufficiently on the look-out for night  
attacks4 ,in the night ,riley had been  
allowed to get behind the position of   
his adversary at ,cerro ,gordo2 and here
 again he got behind and above him1 by  
crawling up a ravine in a foggy night1  
from which point he charged ,valencia in
 reverse4 ,that successful charge of the
 brave old soldier raised him to the    
brevet rank of ,major ,general1 and     
sealed the fate of the city4  ,what sort
 of a victory has it proved to the hero 
of this battle8 ,he had spent the best  

portion of his life in the ,indian      
territory1 arranging difficulties1      
appeasing strifes1 overawing the        
turbulent1 and restraining the          
lawlessness of white intruders4 ,and now
 he had become an old man1 with the rank
 only of ,major1 as he had no kind      
friend at court4 ,but the ,mexican war  
opened to him the prospect of winning a 
sash or of being brought home in a      
coffin4 ,the sash was won1 but the      
coffin was near at hand2 for1 while he  
was gaining his laurels1 he contracted a
 cancer1 which in a short time after his
 return from a distant command1         
consigned him to the home prepared for  
all living4 ,forty long years had he    
followed the profession of arms1 and    
endured its hardships without a murmur2 
yet1 when he laid down his sword to die1
 he had nothing to leave to his children
 but the commissions ,congress had      
awarded him on his ,california revenues4
 ,war is a hard trade for the bravest of
 the brave1 and with very few prizes    

except to political favorites1 who with 
high-sounding titles1 but without       
military experience1 ride by the side of
 some brave subaltern1 gather his       
laurels1 and enjoy the fruits of his    
experience4  ,a slight breastwork and a 
heap of bones and skulls mark the site  
of this gallant exploit of ,general     
,riley4 ,and we fancied that we could   
select the ,american skulls from the    
common mass1 as they clearly belonged to
 two distinct races of men2 one set of  
skulls being thin and firm1 while the   
other was thick and porous4 ,we rode on1
 and soon came to ,san ,angel1 where    
were many pleasant places for suburban  
residences1 and an immense convent      
garden celebrated for its fruits4 ,but  
now all was parched and dry1 for it was 
midwinter1 which is here the middle of  
the dry season1 and it was not yet the  
time for the new foliage to appear upon 
the trees1 for that does not take place 
till ,february4  ,the occasion of our   
ride was an invitation to dine with an  

,american family at the paper-mill of   
,mr4 ,m',intosh1 the ,english banker4   
,this was the greatest treat that ,i had
 yet met with in ,mexico4 ,though ,i    
have had the honor of dining in more    
distinguished places1 both in ,mexico   
and in the ,united ,states1 ,i never    
attended a dinner-party that ,i enjoyed 
so much4 ,it was a thrifty family1 and a
 charming old-fashioned ,new ,england   
housewife had prepared the dinner4      
,perhaps this is saying enough to enable
 the reader to fill out the picture1 for
 he will be sure to guess that          
pumpkin-pies were not forgotten2 for    
what would a down-east thanksgiving     
dinner be without this national dish8   
,the dinner was a charm in itself1 while
 the attendant circumstances gave it a  
double relish4 ,to complete the pleasure
 of the visit1 we made our way into the 
,yankee's kitchen1 and there had the    
pleasure of seeing a cooking-stove1 and 
cooking-furniture of tin1 copper1 and   
iron1 displayed after the most approved 

fashion4 ,verily this universal ,yankee 
nation preserves its distinctive        
characteristics every where6   ,,an     
,,adventure4  ,on our way home we must  
needs have an adventure4 ,but whether   
the party that overtook us on the road  
were really robbers1 or only            
pleasure-seekers hurrying to escape from
 the rain1 ,i have my doubts to the     
present day4 ,but my ministerial        
companion1 who was more experienced in  
such matters1 having been kept here a   
long time by our government to look     
after the unburied ,american dead1      
insisted that it was a genuine case of  
attempted robbery4 ,all ,i can say in   
the premises is1 that eight ,california 
robbers would not have run off in that  
style without first ascertaining whether
 that old revolver had any powder in it 
or not4 ,when we squared up for a fight1
 they might have known that it was      
because my old mustang would not move2  
and they could have had all our         
availables for the asking2 but it was   

saving time in them to run when they    
heard us call out in that hated ,yankee 
language1 and they did scamper off most 
expeditiously4  ,we got back to the     
city1 without a wetting and without a   
chance of getting frightened1 where the 
faithful old mustang and ,i parted      
company forever4 ,ten ,mexican dollars  
was the market value of horse1 saddle1  
and bridle--less than the cost of his   
city eating1 which he had enjoyed with a
 gusto2 and we took diverse ways at     
parting4 ,the faithful old fellow went  
to the silver mines1 and ,i returned to 
the ,united ,states1 after an absence of
 three years and more1 in which ,i had  
been through perils by land and perils  
by water1 but not sufficient to satisfy 
my taste for adventure4  ,up to this    
time ,i was a firm believer in the story
 of ,cortez4 ,but when ,i had retired   
from active duties1 ,i began to think of
 writing a book4 ,i did what no other   
foreign writer on ,mexico has yet       
done--,i made a journey to the country  

at my own charges4 ,i was not in the    
employment of any company or any        
government2 ,i was under no obligation  
to praise any man who did not deserve   
it1 and not disposed to speak           
unnecessary evil of any1 whether they   
deserved it or not4 ,my advantages above
 most writers upon ,mexico were these3  
my independent position1 and my intimate
 knowledge of the character of the      
,north ,american ,indians1 acquired     
before ,i had gained any preconceived   
notions from the writings of others4 ,my
 father1 who had lived among the        
,iroquois1 or ,six ,nations1 in the     
family of ,joseph ,brandt1 and went     
through the usual forms of adoption in  
place of some ,indian who had died1 gave
 me my first lessons on ,indian         
character2 and a taste so early acquired
 ,i followed up in after life4 ,my      
ancestors for several generations dwelt 
near the ,indian agency at ,cherry      
,valley1 on ,wilson's ,patent1 and in a 
neighboring village was ,i born1 but    

removed early in life to a part of the  
country that had belonged to the        
,senecas1 where ,i enjoyed a good       
opportunity of studying ,indian         
character4  ,it was the feast-day of the
 kings1 los ,reyes1 when after my return
 to ,mexico1 ,i was again in the saddle1
 riding out from ,mexico toward the     
village of ,tezcuco4 ,i had to take a   
by-way to avoid the ,guadalupe road1    
which was blocked up in consequence of  
the holiday4 ,in doing so1 ,i had to    
leap a ditch or canal1 in which both ,i 
and my horse came near closing our      
pilgrimage in a quagmire2 but in time we
 were again upon the road4 ,it is a     
dreary place about the hill of          
,tepeyaca1 or ,guadalupe1 and if the    
,virgin had not smiled upon the barren  
hill and made roses grow out of it1 it  
would be as uninviting as one of the    
hills of the valley of ,sodom4 ,this    
hill is now called the ,mountain of     
,crosses1 for upon it1 in #ahaj1 the    
first insurgent1 ,hidalgo1 the priest of

 ,dolores1 won a battle against the     
royal troops1 which should have been    
followed up by an entry into ,mexico2   
but ,providence ordered it otherwise1   
and the forest of crosses that once     
covered it proclaimed a bloody slaughter
 without any results4  ,the shores of   
,tezcuco approach the hill in the wet   
season1 leaving but a narrow margin for 
the road1 but in the dry season this    
margin is greatly enlarged4 ,i have     
already explained the composition of    
tequisquite1 and the manner of its      
production2 here it was lying in        
courses1 or spots1 as it had been left  
by the receding and drying up of the    
water during the present dry season4    
,little piles of it had been gathered up
 here and there to be taken to town for 
use1 probably by the bakers or          
soap-boilers1 who are said to pay       
fourteen shillings an aroba for it4     
,besides a little stunted grass1 there  
was here no sign of vegetable life      
except a peculiar species of the cactus 

family1 which resembled a mammoth beet  
without leaves1 but bearing upon its top
 an array of vegetable knives that      
surrounded a most exquisite scarlet     
flower4   ,,fate ,,of ,,robbers4  ,there
 was another sight by the road side more
 in keeping with the gloomy thoughts    
which this desert plain excites3 it was 
the dead bodies of three men1 who had   
been condemned by a military commission 
for robbing a bishop4 ,they were shot1  
and their bodies were placed on three   
gibbets as a warning to others4 ,the    
bishop said he would have pardoned the  
robbery1 but when they went to that     
extreme limit of depravity of searching 
within his shirt of sackcloth for       
concealed doubloons1 it was more than a 
bishop could endure4 ,the worthy        
ecclesiastic had renounced the world and
 all its vanities1 and had put on the   
badges of poverty and self-mortification
 for #ej1jjj a year1 and he wore the    
disguises that ought to have shielded   
him from the suspicion of being rich6   

,these military commissions are no new  
invention in ,mexico1 for that famous   
,count de ,galvez1 the ,vice-king who   
built the castle of ,chapultepec and    
deposed the ,archbishop of ,mexico1 had 
a traveling military court1 with        
chaplain and all spiritual aids1 to     
accompany the dragoons that scoured the 
road in search of robbers4 ,when a      
fellow was caught1 court1 chaplains1 and
 dragoons made rapid work in dismissing 
him to his long resting-place1 and      
saying a cheap mass for the repose of   
his soul1 and then again they were ready
 for another enterprise4 ,in this way   
the roads were made safe in the times of
 that ,viceroy4  ,had ,i known the real 
distance to ,tezcuco1 ,i ought to have  
abandoned the journey on account of the 
lameness of my horse4 ,but either the   
,virgin ,mary1 or1 more probably1 the   
extreme purity of the atmosphere on     
these elevated plains1 had deprived me  
of the power of measuring distance by   
the eye4 ,this is excessively annoying  

to a traveler4 ,he sees the object he is
 attempting to approach at an apparently
 moderate distance1 plain in sight1 and 
as he rides along1 hour after hour1     
there it stands1 just where it seemed to
 be when he first got sight of it4 ,i   
finally reached my destination in good  
time for a dinner1 and for as good a    
night's entertainment for man and beast 
as could be found in all the ,republic  
of ,mexico4  ,when ,i turned the head of
 the lake1 ,i was close upon the track  
which ,cortez and his retreating band   
followed into the plains of ,otumba4    
,poor wretches6 what a time they must   
have had of it in this disconsolate     
retreat--wounded1 jaded1 like tigers    
bereft of their prey6 ,they mourned for 
their companions slain1 but most of all 
for the booty they had lost4      ,they 
grieved for those that went down in the 
cutter1     ,and also for the biscuits  
and the butter3  and hobbled on1 as best
 they could1 while the natives pursued  
them with hootings and volleys of       

inefficient weapons4 ,passing this point
 and turning to the north-east1 they    
entered the plains of ,otumba1 where    
they encountered the whole undisciplined
 rabble of the ,aztecs1 and scattered   
them like chaff before the wind4   ,a   
,,night ,,at ,,tezcuco4  ,soon after ,i 
had passed the head of the lake and     
turned southward1 ,i entered a          
cultivated country between tilled       
grounds and little mud villages along   
the road4 ,these were the               
representatives of the magnificent      
cities enumerated by ,cortez4 ,that fine
 grove of cypresses which had been a    
landmark all day was now close at hand1 
and ,i could form some idea of its great
 antiquity4 ,but the day was passing    
away1 and it was still uncertain whether
 ,i could find safe quarters for the    
night1 where my horse1 and the silver   
plates on my bridle1 and the silver     
mountings of my saddle would be safe4 ,i
 never own such fancy trifles1 but they 
were on the horse given me at the       

stable4  ,a good dinner and a clean bed 
,i did not expect to find1 nor could ,i 
have found them a year earlier4 ,but the
 new and enterprising company of        
,escandon and ,co41 who now have the    
possession of the ,real del ,monte      
silver mines1 of which ,i shall speak   
hereafter1 had just completed the ,grand
 ,house 7,casa ,grande7 in connection   
with the salt manufacture1 which they   
carry on here solely for the use of that
 single mine4 ,it was a neat1 one-story 
residence of dried mud 7adobe71 and     
worthy the occupancy of the proudest    
king of ,tezcuco4 ,though the flagging  
of the interior court was not all       
completed1 yet the managing partner had 
taken possession1 and it was fitted up  
according to the most approved style of 
an ,anglo-,saxon residence4 ,as horse   
and rider passed into the outer court1  
there stood ready a groom to lead the   
former into the inner court1 where were 
the stables for the horses1 and ,i      
entered the house to enjoy the          

unlooked-for pleasures of ,english      
hospitality in this out-of-the-way      
,indian village4  ,the resident partner 
was an ,englishman4 ,his connection with
 the ,real del ,monte ,company extended 
only to the manufacture of salt4 ,but   
even this was an extensive affair1 and  
had already absorbed an investment of   
#ajj1jjj1 in order to provide the salt  
used in only one branch of the process  
of refining silver at that mine4 ,the   
gentleman was now absent1 but his       
excellent ,english wife and her brother 
knew full well how to discharge the     
duties of host even to an unknown       
stranger4 ,the dinner was of the best1  
and there was no lack of appetite after 
a hard day's ride on a trotting horse4  
,so we all had the prime elements of    
enjoyment4 ,entertainment for man and   
beast is among the highest luxuries to  
be found by the wayside4 ,it was an     
equal luxury to my hosts in their       
isolated residence to receive a visit   
from one whose only recommendation was  

that the ,english language was his      
native tongue1 so that when we retired  
from the dining-room we had become old  
acquaintances4   ,,remains ,,of         
,,tezcuco4  ,the ,king of ,tezcuco never
 knew what it was1 on a raw winter's    
evening1 to sit before a bright wood    
fire1 in a fire-place1 with feet on     
fender and tongs in hand1 listening to  
an animated conversation so mixed up of 
two languages that it was hard to tell  
which predominated4 ,not all the        
stateliness to be found in ,mexican     
palaces1 where1 in a lordly tapestried  
halls1 men and women sit and shiver over
 a protracted dinner1 can yield         
pleasures like those grouped around an  
,english fireside4 ,the evening was not 
half long enough to say all that was to 
be discussed4 ,as we sat and chatted1   
and drank our tea with a gusto we had   
never known before1 we forgot altogether
 that we were indulging in plebeian     
enjoyments upon the spot where a king's 
palace had probably stood4 ,instead of  

such plebeian things as a wood floor and
 ,brussels carpet1 his half-clad majesty
 had here squatted upon a mat1 and dealt
 out justice or injustice1 according to 
his caprice1 to trembling crowds of     
dirty ,indians1 whose royal rags and    
feathers made them princely4 ,dignity   
and majesty are truly parts of ,indian  
character1 but a good dinner and a clean
 bed are luxuries that an ,indian1 even 
though he were an emperor1 never knew4  
,my business here was to search for     
relics1 and as soon as daylight appeared
 ,i was astir4 ,but no relics could be  
found except some stone images so rudely
 cut as to be a burlesque upon ,indian  
stone-cutting4 ,there was a sacrificial 
stone and a calendar stone built into   
the steps of the church of ,san         
,francisco1 which were so badly done    
that the use to which they had been     
applied could just be made out4 ,here1  
too1 was a rude stone wall1 that had    
been built over the grave of ,don       
,fernando1 the first ,christian king of 

,tezcuco1 who had been converted to     
,christianity by ,cortez4 ,there is also
 here one of those little chapels which 
,cortez built1 which indicate extremely 
limited means in the builder4  ,at the  
distance of a bow-shot from this is the 
site of the slip 7canal7 which ,cortez  
says he caused to be dug1 twelve feet   
wide and twelve feet deep1 in order to  
float his brigantines4 ,near by1 the    
,indians were digging a new canal for   
the little steam-boat which now plies on
 the laguna4 ,when they reached a point 
less than three feet from the surface1  
they were stopped by the water4 ,how    
could ,cortez1 under greater            
disadvantages1 dig to the depth of      
twelve feet1 without even iron shovels8 
,i returned to the hacienda and inquired
 if there were no other relics4 ,the    
proprietor assured me that he had been  
unable to find any except the ,indian   
mounds which he showed me1 and some     
stone cellar steps that he had found in 
digging4 ,and this is all that now      

remains of the great and magnificent    
city of ,tezcuco1 which had entered into
 alliance with ,cortez1 and which1 for  
more than a hundred years after the     
,conquest1 was under the especial care  
of a ,superintendent sent from ,spain1  
as an ,indian ,reservation4  ,there are 
here eight ,franciscan monks and a      
convent2 seven of these monks ,i was    
assured were living at home with their  
families and children1 but the eighth1  
who happened to be a cripple1 lived in  
the convent4 ,a major in the guard was  
pointed out to me1 who1 having committed
 a murder1 took sanctuary in the church1
 where he remained several days1        
when--and we have his own word for      
it--the ,virgin ,mary appeared to him   
and freely forgave him4 ,on this news   
getting abroad1 there was great         
rejoicing in ,tezcuco that the ,virgin  
had at last visited them4 ,from being   
stigmatized as a murderer1 the object of
 this visit was almost adored as a      
saint1 and became one of the principal  

men of the village1 and was created a   
major in the new corps4  ,after ,i had  
surveyed the salt-works and the         
glassworks1 ,i turned my horse's head   
toward ,mexico by the road along the    
eastern shore1 so that ,i made the      
complete circuit of ,lake ,tezcuco4     
,thus far my visit to the royal city of 
,tezcuco had been perfectly successful1 
except in the attempts made to convince 
the young ,englishman that ,i was not a 
dead-shot with the rifle2 and ,i started
 home with a slight shade upon my       
veracity for denying my ability to      
pierce the centre of the bull's-eye4    
,but otherwise it was a disagreeable    
parting to all of us4 ,as ,i returned by
 the east side of the lake1 the splendid
 high farming-lands that extend from the
 shore to the foot of the mountain were 
strikingly in contrast with the flatness
 and barrenness of the plain on the     
water-side1 which is so slightly        
elevated above the level of the salt    
water that a few inches of rise in the  

laguna spreads out an immense sheet of  
saline water1 and yet there is not a    
solitary evaporating vat where there is 
an unlimited demand for the evaporated  
article at fourteen shillings the aroba4
  ,cortez speaks of the fine fields of  
corn on the east side of the lake4 ,but 
they could not have been finer in his   
day than they are at present1 though    
they furnished him with the supplies    
that supported his army4 ,i reached the 
head of ,tezcuco at noontide1 where the 
heavy water of the salt lake was driving
 up toward the fresh water1 as described
 by ,cortez1 but it was under the       
pressure of a strong north wind4   ,,the
 ,,aztec ,,causeways4  ,now that ,i am  
on the new causeway1 broad and spacious 
like all the others1 it may be well to  
conclude the discussion of the physical 
condition of this valley by determining 
the size of the old ,aztec causeways4   
,an island embosomed in a marsh has     
always formed a favorite retreat for an 
,indian tribe1 whether among the        

everglades of ,florida1 or the wild-rice
 swamps of north-western ,canada4 ,such 
a retreat is still more desirable when1 
in addition to the security it affords  
from an enemy1 it is likewise a resort  
for wild ducks1 as was and is the case  
with the laguna of the ,mexican valley4 
,hence1 probably1 the ,aztecs selected  
this place as the site of their village2
 and to reach it1 it was necessary to   
make one or more footpaths across the   
marsh4 ,as the ,aztecs had no beasts of 
burden1 this must have been a task of no
 little magnitude4 ,to have made it     
thirty feet wide would not only have    
been a work of immense difficulty1 but  
would have destroyed the defensive      
character of their position4 ,still1 we 
can1 upon this occasion1 afford to be a 
little liberal with the statements of   
,cortez1 as we have had to cut his      
hundreds of thousands of warriors down  
to a few thousand of miserably-armed    
,indians1 and reduce his magnificent    
cities to small ,indian villages4 ,in   

order to make the island of ,mexico at  
all inhabitable1 we have had to reduce  
his lakes from navigable basins of      
twelve feet or more in depth to mere    
evaporating ponds4 ,his floating islands
 have been transformed into garden-beds 
built upon the mud2 and his canals have 
sunk to mere ditches4 ,now ,i propose to
 be liberal to the old ,conquistador in 
the matter of his famous causeways1 and 
will therefore admit that they might    
have been twelve feet in width--as broad
 as the tow-path of the ,erie ,canal4   
,,chapter ,,xix4  ,the ,street of       
,tacuba4--,the ,spaniards and the       
,indian ,women4--,the ,retreat of       
,cortez4--,the ,aqueducts of            
,mexico4--,the ,english and ,american   
,burying-grounds4--,the ,protestant     
,president4--,the rival ,virgins4--,an  
,image out of ,favor4--,the ,aztecs and 
the ,spaniards4   ,as ,i rode along the 
street to the gate and causeway of      
,tacuba1 over which ,cortez retreated on
 the sorrowful night 7triste noche71 ,i 

naturally fell into reflections upon the
 righteous retribution that overtook a  
portion of the ,spanish robbers on that 
night1 and upon the mysterious ways of  
,providence in allowing ,cortez and a   
remnant to escape being burned alive by 
the ,indians after the infamous lives   
which1 by their own admissions1 they had
 been leading in the city4 ,the ,indians
 had made a feeble resistance when      
,alvarado murdered their chiefs1 and had
 cringed into submission when ,cortez   
returned4 ,but now their wrongs had     
reached that point where even ,aztecs   
could endure no more4 ,their cup of     
iniquity seemed full1 when ,cortez1 who 
had left a wife in ,cuba1 sent to the   
little village of ,tacuba1 called by    
,diaz ,tlacupa1 to fetch thence some    
women of his household1 among whom was  
the daughter of ,montezuma he had       
already one daughter of ,montezuma in   
his power whom he had given in charge of
 the ,king of ,tlacupa1 her relative1   
when he marched against ,narvaez4#cf    

,the women being rescued1 ,cortez       
afterward sent ,ordaz1 with four hundred
 men1 which brought on hostilities that 
ended in this night retreat4   ,,the    
,,household ,,of ,,cortez4  ,cortez was 
worse than the ,mormon governor of      
,utah1 who is said to have thirty-six   
wives in his household4 ,but they are1  
at least1 voluntary inmates of his      
harem1 while the household of ,cortez   
had been taken by violence4 ,it is one  
of the prominent traits of ,indian      
character that1 while they are inhuman  
to their female captives1 they guard    
with the utmost jealousy the virtue of  
their wives4 ,even among the debased    
,indians of ,california1 female         
infidelity is punished with death2 and  
,i have seen the whole population of an 
,indian village on the ,upper           
,sacramento thrown into the utmost      
confusion--the women howling1 and the   
men brandishing their weapons--because a
 base ,indian had sold his wife to a    
still baser white man4 ,such a thing was

 never1 they said1 done in the tribe    
before4 ,and here we have ,cortez1 in   
contempt of even ,indian notions of     
virtue1 sending to bring to his harem1  
by violence1 another daughter of        
,montezuma4  ,as ,bernal ,diaz goes more
 into detail than ,cortez1 he now and   
then drops an expression that furnishes 
a clew to many an enigma otherwise      
unexplainable4 ,in speaking of the      
avarice of the officers1 he lets fall   
the following confession of his own     
infamy3  ,this was a good hint to us in 
future1 so that afterward1 when we had  
captured any beautiful ,indian females1 
we concealed them1 and gave out that    
they had escaped4 ,as soon as it was    
come to the marking day1 or1 if any one 
of us stood in favor with ,cortez1 he   
got them secretly marked viz41 branded  
with a red-hot iron during the          
night-time1 and paid a fifth of their   
value to him4 ,in a short time we       
possessed a great number of such        
slaves4#cg  ,never was there a band of  

,anglo-,saxon outlaws1 cut-throats1     
pirates1 or buccaneers that reached that
 point of human depravity that they     
could brand1 as cattle are branded1 with
 a red-hot iron1 swarms of women taken  
by violence1 in order that they might   
not make any mistakes in recognizing    
their numberless wives6 ,none but       
,spanish heroes of a holy war ever      
exhibited such a picture of total       
depravity4  ,when the ,aztecs were thus 
roused to action by the brutal lust of  
,cortez1 they assailed him with phrensy 
rather than with courage1 until his     
quarters in the city became untenable1  
and then this night retreat was         
undertaken1 in which all the gold1 if   
there really was any1 and all other     
treasures1 and two sons and one daughter
 of ,montezuma1 were lost in the        
confused rush of such a multitude over  
this foot-path4 ,the ,indian story is   
that ,cortez slew the children of       
,montezuma when he found himself unable 
to carry them off4 ,perhaps he did1 but 

the probability is that they perished by
 chance1 or1 rather1 it seems to have   
been by chance that ,cortez or any of   
his gang escaped and came safe to       
,tacuba4  ,we must now give up history  
to talk of things by the road-side4     
,the hard water from the springs on the 
south side of ,chapultepec is carried   
over stone arches upon the causeway of  
,tacubaya to the gate of ,belin4 ,but at
 ,santa ,fe1 several leagues distant    
from the city1 is a stream of soft      
water1 which is brought to the          
powder-mill 7,molina del ,rey71 where it
 turns a wheel4 ,thence the aqueduct1   
passing by the north side of            
,chapultepec1 is carried along the      
highway to the causeway of ,san ,cosmo4 
,it passes the gate of ,san ,cosmo1     
enters the city1 and terminates in the  
street of ,tacuba4 ,by these two gates1 
and by the side of these two parallel   
aqueducts1 the ,american army entered   
the city of ,mexico4  ,the objects of   
interest by the road-side1 after ,i had 

passed the city gate1 were1 first1 the  
,french ,academy1 which is well worthy  
of a visit for its pretty grounds1 if   
nothing more4 ,when we had got farther  
on1 the land rose a little above the    
water-level of the swamp4 ,here a       
branch-road and the aqueduct turned off 
to ,chapultepec1 and in the angle thus  
formed by the two roads is the ,english 
burying-ground or cemetery4 ,in this    
resting-place of the dead there is not a
 spot that can not be irrigated at all  
seasons of the year1 while the art of   
man has been busy in improving the      
advantages that nature has so lavishly  
bestowed4  ,just before my first arrival
 in ,mexico1 public attention had been  
particularly directed to this quiet     
spot1 from its having been chosen as the
 place for depositing the ashes of the  
last ,president of ,mexico1 at whose    
burial no holy water had been wasted and
 no candles had been burned1 and for the
 repose of whose soul no masses had ever
 been said1 or other religious rites    

performed1 and yet he slept as quietly  
as those who had gone to their burial   
with the pomp and circumstance of a     
state funeral4 ,no priest had shrived   
his soul1 his lips had not been touched 
with the anointing oil1 nor was incense 
burned at his funeral2 yet he died in   
peace1 declaring in his last hours that 
he had made his confession to ,god1 and 
trusted in him for the pardon of his    
sins1 and refused all the proffered aid 
of priests in facilitating his journey  
to heaven4 ,thus died1 and here was     
privately buried1 the first and last    
,protestant ,president of ,mexico1 the  
only really good man that ever occupied 
that exalted station1 and probably the  
only native ,mexican who ever had the   
moral courage to denounce the religion  
of his fathers upon his dying bed4      
,,the ,,american ,,cemetery4  ,adjoining
 the ,english cemetery on the south side
 is the ,american burying-ground1 which 
has been established since the war1     
where have been collected the remains of

 #gej ,americans1 that died or were     
killed at ,mexico1 and a neat monument  
has been erected over them4 ,here       
,americans that die henceforth in that  
city can be buried4 ,an appropriation of
 #ejj a year would make this more       
attractive than the ,english cemetery1  
but the place has been wholly neglected 
by ,congress since that worthy man1 the 
,rev4 ,g4 ,g4 ,goss1 completed his      
labors4 ,there is a pleasure in         
observing the natural affinities which1 
in foreign countries1 draw close        
together these two branches of the      
,anglo-,saxon family4 ,a common language
 and a common religion overmaster       
political differences1 and the ,english 
and ,american dead are laid side by side
 to rest until the judgment4 ,at the    
south of the ,american cemetery is a    
vacant lot1 which the ,king of ,prussia 
should purchase1 so that the ,germans   
may no longer be dependent on ,americans
 for a burying-place1 and that the three
 great ,protestant powers of the world  

may here1 as they every where should1 be
 drawn close together4  ,illustration3  
,,monument ,,to ,,the ,,americans4      
,tacuba is a very small village1 and is 
not in any wise noted except for an     
immense cypress-tree1 that must have    
been a wonder even in the time of       
,cortez4 ,tacuba has the historical     
notoriety of being the place where      
hostilities first broke out between the 
,aztecs and the ,spaniards1 and the spot
 where the night retreat of the latter  
terminated4 ,here the land is quite     
fertile1 and a little way from the      
village are several water-mills1 where  
the grain raised in this part of the    
valley is ground into flour4   ,,the    
,,virgin ,,of ,,remedies4  ,a little way
 beyond ,tacuba is the hill and temple  
of the ,virgin of ,remedies4 ,it was    
upon this hill1 within the inclosure of 
an ,indian mound1 that the retreating   
party of ,cortez made their first       
bivouac1 and built fires and dressed    
their wounds4 ,hence they gave to the   

hill the name of ,remedios1 and the     
church afterward erected was dedicated  
to our ,lady of ,remedies4 ,diaz tells  
us that it became very celebrated in his
 time4 ,the story about ,cortez finding 
a broken-nosed image in the knapsack of 
one of his soldiers is not mentioned    
either by himself or ,bernal ,diaz1 and 
must therefore be an afterthought1 to   
give plausibility to a subsequent       
imposition4 ,from this point ,cortez and
 his party1 without their women or      
treasures1 trudged along to the foot of 
the hills to ,tepeac1 or ,guadalupe1 and
 thence around the foot of ,tezcuco to  
the plains of ,otumba4  ,the story is1  
that while ,cortez and his men were     
resting here1 a soldier took from his   
knapsack an image1 with nose broken and 
an eye wanting1 which ,cortez made the  
patron saint of the expedition1 and held
 it up to their adoration1 and that this
 little incident so encouraged the men  
that they started off with renewed      
vigor4 ,the whole of this story is      

probably a very silly modern invention4 
,the bulk of the forces of ,cortez was  
most probably composed of that class of 
reprobates that to this day can be found
 about almost any of the ,west ,india   
sea-ports1 ready for any enterprise1    
however hazardous4 ,they have no        
religion2 they are not even             
superstitious1 but yield a nominal      
acquiescence to the forms of the        
,catholic religion4 ,cortez speaks often
 of his efforts to effect the conversion
 of the ,indians1 but it is in such a   
business sort of way as to lead to the  
impression1 that it was all done to make
 an impression at home1 but was really a
 matter that he did not care much about4
 ,the famous image1 according to the    
current story1 disappeared soon after   
the ,conquest1 but was found about #aej 
years afterward in a maguey plant1 and  
was as much dilapidated as if it had    
been exposed to the weather for the     
whole of that century and a half4       
,such1 in substance1 is the tradition of

 the ,virgin of ,remedies1 who for a    
century divided with the ,virgin of     
,guadalupe the adoration of the people  
in the most amicable manner4 ,but when  
the insurrection of #ahaj broke out1    
these two virgins parted company4 ,viva 
the ,virgin of ,guadalupe6 became the   
war-cry of the unsuccessful rebels1     
while ,viva the ,lady of ,remedies6 was 
shouted back by the conquering forces of
 the king4 ,the ,lady of ,guadalupe     
became suspected of insurrectionary     
propensities1 while all honors were     
lavished upon the ,lady of ,remedies by 
those who wished to make protestations  
of their loyalty4 ,pearls1 money1 and   
jewels were bestowed upon her by the    
nobility and the ,spanish merchants2 and
 as one insurrectionary leader after    
another was totally defeated1 the       
conquering generals returned to lay     
their trophies at the feet of the ,lady 
of ,remedies1 to whose interposition the
 victory was ascribed4 ,they carried her
 in triumphant procession through the   

streets of ,mexico1 singing a laudamus4 
,then it was that the ,lady of ,remedies
 was at the zenith of her glory4 ,her   
person was refulgent with a blaze of    
jewels1 and her temple was like that of 
,diana of ,ephesus1 and all about the   
hill on which it stood bore marks of the
 greatest prosperity4   ,,rise ,,and    
,,fall ,,of ,,the ,,virgin4  ,her       
healing powers were then unrivaled1 and 
the list of cures which she is claimed  
to have effected surpasses that of all  
the patent medicines of our day4 ,she   
was an infallible healer1 alike of the  
diseases of the mind and of the body4 ,a
 glimpse of her broken nose and battered
 face instantaneously cured men of      
democracy and unbelief4 ,heretics stood 
confounded in her presence1 while the   
halt1 the lame1 and the leprous hung up 
their crutches1 their bandages1 and     
their filthy rags1 as trophies of her   
healing power1 among the flags and other
 trophies of her victories over the     
rebels4 ,nothing was beyond her skill2  

from mending a leaky boat to securing a 
prize in the lottery2 from giving eyes  
to the blind1 feet to the lame1 mending 
a broken or a paralyzed limb1 or a      
broken heart1 to putting the baby to    
sleep4 ,her votaries esteemed her       
omnipotent1 and carried her in          
procession in times of drought1 as the  
goddess of rain2 and when pestilence    
raged in the city1 she was borne through
 the infected streets4 ,such was she in 
the times of her glory4  ,now all is    
changed4 ,she is still a goddess1 but   
her glory is eclipsed4 ,she1 like many a
 virgin in social life1 neglected to    
make her market while all knees were    
bowing to her1 and now1 in the sear and 
yellow leaf1 she is a virgin still4 ,her
 temple is dilapidated1 her garlands are
 faded1 her gilding is tarnished1 the   
buildings about her ,court are falling  
to decay1 while the bleak hill which her
 temple crowns looks tenfold more       
uninviting than if it never had been    
occupied4 ,when ,i entered this         

neglected temple of a neglected image1  
an old1 superannuated priest was saying 
mass1 and three or four old crones were 
kneeling before her altar4 ,such are the
 effects that followed the revolution of
 ,iguala4 ,not only was her hated rival 
of ,guadalupe elevated from her long    
obscurity to be the national saint1 but 
the animosity against this dilapidated  
image of ,remedies was carried to that  
extreme of cruelty that1 when the       
,spaniards were expelled from ,mexico1  
the passports of the ,lady of ,remedios 
were made out1 and she was ordered to   
leave the country4 ,poor thing6  ,the   
porter's eye glistened at the now       
unwonted sight of a silver dollar1 and  
he soon had me through the most secret  
recesses of the sanctuary4 ,the only    
things ,i saw worthy of admiration were 
some pictures1 made from down or the    
feathers of the humming-bird1 by which a
 richness of color was imparted to the  
pictures that could not be obtained from
 paints4  ,at last we came to the back  

of the great altar1 and the curtain of  
damask silk being drawn up by a little  
string1 we saw sitting in a metallic    
maguey plant a bright new ,paris doll1  
dressed in the gaudy odds and ends of   
silk that make such a thing an          
attractive ,christmas present for the   
nursery4 ,paste supplied the place of   
jewels1 and a constellation of false    
pearls were at the back of her          
shoulders4 ,the man kept his gravity1   
and did reverence to the poor doll1     
while ,i burned with indignation at     
being imposed upon by a counterfeit     
universal remedy for all diseases4 ,i   
had often read in the apothecaries'     
advertisements cautions against         
counterfeits1 and rewards for their     
detection1 and ,i always noticed1 from  
these printed evidences1 that the       
counterfeits were exactly in proportion 
to the worthlessness of the genuine     
article1 and that medicine which was    
utterly valueless itself suffered most  
from the abundance of counterfeits4 ,so 

it was with the ,lady of ,remedios2     
after she had fallen below the dignity  
of a humbug1 and no man was found so    
poor as to do her reverence1 she was    
spirited away to the ,cathedral of the  
city of ,mexico1 in order to save her   
three jeweled petticoats from being     
stolen1 and a child's doll1 covered with
 paste jewels1 now personified the great
 patron saint of the vice-kingdom of    
,new ,spain4   ,,aztec ,,and ,,romish   
,,images4  ,i again mounted my horse1   
angry at being cheated4 ,though the day 
was a most lovely one1 ,i rode home in  
fit humor to contrast the system of     
paganism which ,cortez introduced with  
the more poetical system which preceded 
it1 and to compare these cast-off       
child's dolls with the allegorical      
images of the ,aztecs4 ,my landlord had 
two boxes of such images1 collected when
 they were cleaning out one of the old  
city canals4 ,by way of parlor          
ornaments1 we had an ,aztec god of baked
 earth4 ,he was sitting in a chair2     

around his navel was coiled a serpent2  
his right hand rested upon the head of  
another serpent4 ,this1 according to the
 laws of interpreting allegories1 we    
should understand to signify that the   
god had been renowned for his wisdom2   
that with the wisdom of the serpent he  
had executed judgment2 and that his     
meditations were the profundity of      
wisdom4 ,and yet this allegorical       
worship1 defective as it may have been1 
was forcibly superseded by the adoration
 of a child's doll--one that had very   
possibly been worn out and thrown from a
 nursery1 and perhaps picked up by some 
passing monk1 was made the goddess of   
,new ,spain1 and clothed with three     
petticoats1 one adorned with pearls1 one
 with rubies1 and one with diamonds1 at 
an estimated cost of #c1jjj1jjj4 ,which 
was the least objectionable             
superstition8  ,we have been taught to  
look upon the worship of the ,aztecs as 
monstrous2 but the witnesses against    
them were themselves monsters1 who were 

seeking for a pretense to excuse their  
own brutality in reducing the ,indians  
to the most debasing slavery1 while they
 appropriated to their own use the best 
looking of the squaws1 and kept such    
swarms of supernumerary wives that each 
,spaniard had to brand them with a      
red-hot iron in order to know his own   
family4 ,the fathers of the present     
mixed-breed population of ,mexico tell  
us that the ,aztecs offered human       
sacrifices1 and feasted upon human      
flesh4 ,they hope1 by dwelling upon the 
enormities of the ,indians1 to excuse   
their own still more detestable crimes4 
,for three centuries their stories were 
uncontradicted1 and they have been      
received as historical verities4 ,but   
the character of the witnesses warrants 
us in receiving their statements with   
some incredulity4        #cf ,bernal    
,diaz1 vol4 i4 p4 #cch4        #cg      
,bernal ,diaz1 vol4 i4 p4 #ca1 #cb4     
,,chapter ,,xx4  ,the ,paseo at         
,evening4--,ride to ,chapultepec4--,the 

old ,cypresses of ,chapultepec4--,the   
,capture of ,chapultepec4--,molina del  
,rey4--,tacubaya4--,don ,manuel         
,escandon4--,the ,tobacco               
,monopoly4--,the ,palace of             
,escandon4--,the                        
,desierto4--,hermits4--,monks in the    
,conflict with ,satan4--,our ,lady of   
,carmel4   ,my residence was near the   
,paseo ,nuevo1 and at evening1 while the
 sun had yet an hour of his daily task  
to finish1 ,i habitually sauntered forth
 for a walk up and down the ,paseo1 to  
look at the crowd of coaches1 with tops 
thrown back1 so that the bare-headed    
ladies1 in full dress for dinner1 might 
enjoy the evening air1 acquire an       
appetite1 and salute their friends by   
presenting the backs of their hands1    
while they twirled their fingers at them
 with a hearty smile4 ,gentlemen on     
richly-caparisoned horses dashed along  
between the rows of advancing and       
returning carriages1 stopping now and   
then by the side of a well-known        

carriage to exchange salutations1 or1 by
 an exhibition of a well-timed          
embarrassment1 proclaim the favored     
object of their evening's ride4 ,crowds 
of foot-passengers sauntered along the  
road-side1 looking at the rich display  
made by the aristocracy and nobility of 
the republic4 ,at the entrance of the   
,paseo1 in front of the amphitheatre1   
where on ,sundays bulls are tortured to 
death as a popular amusement1 is the    
equestrian bronze statue of ,carlos     
,,iv41 the work of ,tolsa1 who1 as      
artist and architect1 has won for       
himself undying renown at ,mexico4 ,the 
garden of ,tolsa1 the ,college of       
,mines1 and the bronze horse1 testify to
 the greatness of his genius4 ,half way 
down the ,paseo is a fountain1 around   
which two semicircles of coaches place  
themselves for a little time1 to look on
 the passing current of carriages and   
horsemen4 ,they soon disappear as the   
sun shows symptoms of descending behind 
the mountains4 ,on ,sundays the scene is

 more animated1 and then the ,president1
 with his body-guard of lancers1 and    
attendants in scarlet livery1 is seen to
 dash into the ,paseo1 ride down and    
return through the ,alameda1 among whose
 trees and fountains the ,sabbath crowds
 most do congregate4  ,one morning when 
all was quiet in this place of display1 
,i rode down the street of ,san         
,francisco1 and turned up the ,paseo    
between the prison of the ,acordado and 
the bronze horse4 ,there was nothing to 
disturb the monotony that now reigned   
but cabs or omnibuses on their way to or
 returning from ,tacubaya4 ,passing     
through the open gate of ,belin1 ,i rode
 along at the side of the aqueduct to   
the rock of ,chapultepec4   ,,cypresses 
,,of ,,chapultepec4  ,it calls up       
singular reflections to look upon a     
living thing that has existed for a     
thousand years1 though it be only a     
tree4 ,though so many centuries have    
rolled over the venerable cypresses of  
,chapultepec1 yet they still are sound  

and vigorous4 ,the extensive springs of 
pure water that issue from beneath this 
immense rock have kept them flourishing 
in the midst of a tequisquite valley4   
,long gray threads of ,spanish moss hang
 pendent from the extremity of their    
limbs and cover the lower leaves4 ,these
 trees are the only living links that   
unite modern and ancient ,american      
civilization2 for they were in being    
while that mysterious race1 the         
,toltecs1 were still upon the           
table-lands of ,mexico--a race that has 
left behind1 not only at ,teotihuacan1  
but in the hot country1 the imperishable
 memorials of a civilization like that  
of ,egypt2 and from them the ,aztecs    
acquired an imperfect knowledge of a few
 simple arts4#ch  ,these trees had long 
been standing1 when a body of ,aztecs1  
wandering away from their tribe in      
search of game1 fixed themselves upon   
the islands of this marsh1 first about  
the rock of ,chapultepec1 then at       
,mexicalzingo and ,iztapalapan1 and     

finally at ,mexico4 ,these trees were   
undisturbed by the ,spaniards when      
,cortez took the city1 and the          
,americans respected their great        
antiquity1 so that during all the wars  
and battles that have taken place around
 and above them1 they have passed       
unharmed4  ,not only unnumbered         
generations1 but whole races have       
appeared and disappeared1 while these   
trees have quietly flourished amid the  
strife of the elements and the          
contentions of men1 taking no heed of   
the passing events of which they were   
spectators4 ,the ,toltecs1 of whom we   
must speak more fully hereafter1 were   
the first of these races that           
disappeared from the table-land--the    
victims of wars1 and of that plague of  
the ,indian races1 the matlazhuatl4 ,as 
the ,aztecs rose into importance by     
their success in war and by the         
multitude of their captives1 ,indian    
princes made the springs near           
,chapultepec their favorite             

bathing-place1 and spread their mats    
under these trees1 and in their shadow  
enjoyed their noontide slumbers4 ,then  
the pale-faces came1 and peopled the    
valley with a race of mixed blood1 and  
vice-kings occupied the place that had  
been the sacred retreat of the ,aztec   
chiefs4  ,these trees had added many    
rings to their already enlarged         
circumference before the vice-kings     
disappeared1 and an emperor sat in the  
shade which had been their favorite     
retreat2 and the ,aztec eagle floated   
again upon the standard that waved over 
,chapultepec2 but it was only the       
galvanized corpse of that brave bird1   
and the emperor was only a victim       
prepared for the sacrifice4 ,since that 
time much bad gunpowder has been burned 
over the heads of the trees1 and the    
roots have been shaken by the discharge 
of the cannon of the castle at every    
change of rulers1 as one ephemeral      
government succeeded another1 but these 
cypresses still remain unharmed1 and may

 outlive many other dynasties4          
,,chapultepec ,,and ,,molina ,,del      
,,rey4  ,the ,americans captured        
,chapultepec by a coup de main4 ,having 
made several breaches through the stone 
wall behind the cypresses1 they rushed  
through under those trees and up the    
side of the hill next to them1 not      
allowing themselves to be delayed by the
 turnings of the road4 ,the general in  
command1 the late ,general ,bravo1 was a
 man of tried courage1 and not deficient
 in military sagacity4 ,he sent most    
urgent requests to ,santa ,anna for     
reinforcements1 urging that ,general    
,scott was too prudent a soldier to     
attack the city before carrying the     
castle1 and that the garrison was       
inadequate for its defense4 ,but ,santa 
,anna was completely paralyzed1 as      
,scott designed he should be1 by the    
large force1 under ,general ,smith1     
which was threatening the south front of
 the city4 ,when it was too late1 ,santa
 ,anna discovered that this was only a  

feint4  ,illustration3 ,,chapultepec4   
,the ,king's ,mill 7,molina del ,rey7 is
 an old powder-mill1 standing on        
elevated ground in the rear of          
,chapultepec4 ,it has nothing about it  
to give it notoriety except the         
slaughter of the ,american troops that  
here took place from a masked battery1  
manned by a body of volunteers from the 
work-shops of the city4 ,the whole      
affair was a military mistake4 ,its     
capture was not necessary to insure the 
capture of ,chapultepec1 for1 as soon as
 that fortress1 which commanded the     
mill1 should be in our power1 the mill  
would be untenable4 ,but repeated       
successes had made the ,american        
officers imprudent1 so that without     
first battering down its walls1 the     
division of ,general ,worth rushed up1  
regardless of a flank fire of the       
castle1 to carry this old building by   
assault4 ,after the sacrifice of about  
#gjj lives1 cannon were brought out and 
the breach made1 and then the difficulty

 was at an end4  ,a mile or so by the   
road leading south and west from        
,chapultepec is ,tacubaya1 where are the
 suburban residences of the ,archbishop1
 the ,president1 and of divers city     
bankers2 and where the ,english banker1 
,mr4 ,jimmerson1 has introduced ,english
 gardening1 and1 in a ,mexican climate1 
enjoys the pleasure of an ,english      
country residence4   ,,don ,,manuel     
,,escandon4  ,the most attractive       
establishment of ,tacubaya is the new   
palace of ,don ,manuel ,escandon1 a     
native-born1 self-made ,mexican         
millionaire2 a man whose capital has so 
enormously accumulated before he has    
even reached middle life1 that he was   
able to propose to discount a bill for  
#g1jjj1jjj as an ordinary business      
transaction1 though ultimately          
government divided the bid with another 
house4 ,this most remarkable instance of
 accumulation of wealth in modern times 
is deserving of a passing notice1 which 
,i give on the authority of my landlord1

 who had a personal knowledge of his    
history4  ,don ,manuel enjoyed1 in      
addition to an intimate knowledge of his
 own countrymen1 the advantages of a    
foreign education1 which had extended to
 an examination of those arts and       
improvements that elevate ,europeans    
above the semi-barbarous people of      
,spanish ,america4 ,the first enterprise
 that brought him prominently forward   
was the establishment of that vast and  
most perfect system of stage-coaches1 of
 which ,i have already spoken1 on an    
original capital of #bej1jjj4 ,the      
wretched condition of the roads1 and the
 heavy losses that at first always      
attend enterprises of that magnitude1   
disheartened his partners1 who were glad
 to sell out to him #aej1jjj of the     
capital stock at a discount of #ej per  
cent4 ,afterward the late ,zurutusa     
bought into the scheme1 and ultimately  
became the owner of all the property1   
having1 before his death1 more than     
realized the highest anticipations of   

himself or ,escandon4 ,a hundred        
thousand dollars1 or thereabouts1 were  
the profits to ,escandon by this        
establishment of a series of hotels and 
stages quite across the continent4 ,by  
the successful running of a blockade of 
the coast1 he realized nearly another   
hundred thousand dollars4 ,the numerous 
enterprises open to men of superior     
sagacity1 who fully understand the wants
 of a country in a state of chaos1 and  
are familiar with the improvements of   
other countries1 were readily embraced  
by him1 until he found himself possessed
 of sufficient capital to become the    
principal purchaser of the extensive    
silver mines of ,real del ,monte1 of    
which the salt-works of ,tezcuco are but
 an outside appendage4  ,the tobacco    
monopoly had yielded to the ,king of    
,spain an average return of nearly a    
million annually4 ,under the ,republic  
the consumption of the weed had greatly 
increased1 but1 from the prevalence of  
disorder in every branch of the         

administration1 this important branch of
 the revenue was almost entirely        
absorbed by the officials through whose 
hands it passed1 so that the sum        
realized by government in the most      
unproductive year fell off to #be1jjj1  
but finally reached #de1jjj1 the amount 
at which it was farmed out by ,escandon 
and ,company4 ,since that time the      
return to government has gone on        
increasing1 until it was advertised to  
be let the last year at the round sum of
 #a1bjj1jjj4 ,how much more the partners
 realized during the years that they    
held the contract is1 of course1 known  
only to themselves4  ,the new house     
which ,don ,manuel has built at         
,tacubaya is decidedly the finest palace
 in the republic4 ,the position is well 
chosen1 and the sum of #cjj1jjj has been
 laid out upon the house and grounds4   
,it is a combination of an ,italian     
villa1 with the comforts and            
conveniences of ,english life4 ,london1 
,paris1 and ,new ,york have alike       

contributed to its furniture4 ,i was    
told that #ej1jjj was invested in       
pictures alone4 ,when ,i looked at the  
perfection to which the house1 the      
grounds1 and the ornamental works had   
been carried1 my only wonder was that   
#cjj1jjj could have paid for such a     
combination of elegance and good taste4 
,the family1 which consists only of ,don
 ,manuel and his widowed sisters1 had   
left on account of the cholera then     
prevailing in ,tacubaya1 but the steward
 readily opened every door to my        
companion2 and thus1 without intruding  
upon the privacy of a family1 or even   
having the honor of their acquaintance1 
,i obtained access to one of the finest 
private residences that ,i have ever yet
 seen1 either in this country or any    
other4 ,in this house it was that the   
,gadsden treaty was proposed1 at a      
dinner-party at which ,mr4 ,gadsden and 
,santa ,anna were present4   ,,the      
,,desierto4  ,there was nothing to      
detain me longer at ,tacubaya2 but a    

ride upon the ,tacubaya road is not well
 finished without being extended to the 
,desierto1 a place now as attractive in 
its ruins as it was in its prosperity4  
,a description of what it once was ,i   
copy from old ,thomas ,gage3 ,but more  
north south westward1 three leagues from
 ,mexico1 is the pleasantest place of   
all that are about ,mexico1 called the  
,solidad1 or ,desierto1 'the ,solitary  
,place' or ',wilderness4' ,were all     
wildernesses like it1 to live in a      
wilderness would be better than to live 
in a city4 ,this hath been a device of  
bare-footed ,carmelites1 to make show of
 their apparent godliness1 and who would
 be thought to live like hermits1       
retired from the world1 that they may   
draw the world unto them4 ,they have    
built them a stately cloister1 which1   
being upon a hill and among rocks1 makes
 it to be most admired4 ,about the      
cloister they have fashioned out many   
holes and caves1 in1 under1 and among   
the rocks1 like hermits' lodgings1 with 

a room to lie in1 and an oratory to pray
 in1 with pictures1 and images1 and rare
 devices for self-mortification1 as     
scourges of wire1 rods of iron1         
haircloth girdles with sharp wire       
points1 to gird about their bare flesh1 
and many such like toys1 which hang     
about their oratories1 to make people   
admire their mortified and holy lives4  
,all these hermits' holes and caves1    
which are some ten in all1 are within   
the bounds and compass of the cloister1 
and among orchards and gardens1 which   
are full of fruits and flowers1 which   
may take two miles in compass2 and here 
among the rocks are many springs of     
water1 which1 with the shade of the     
plantain and other trees1 are most cool 
and pleasant to the hermits4 ,they have 
also the sweet smell of the rose and the
 jessamine1 which is a little flower1   
but the sweetest of all others2 and     
there is not any flower to be found that
 is rare and exquisite in that country  
which is not in that wilderness1 to     

delight the senses of those mortified   
hermits4  ,they are weekly changed from 
the cloister1 and when their week is    
ended others are sent1 and they return  
into their cloisters2 they carry with   
them their bottles of wine1 sweetmeats1 
and other provisions4 ,as for fruits1   
the trees do drop them into their       
mouths4 ,it is wonderful to see the     
strange devices of fountains of water   
which are about the gardens2 but much   
more strange and wonderful to see the   
resort thither of coaches1 and gallants1
 and ladies1 and citizens from ,mexico1 
to walk and make merry in those desert  
pleasures1 and to see those hypocrites1 
whom they look upon as living saints1   
and so think nothing too good for them  
to cherish them in their desert         
conflicts with ,satan4  ,none goes to   
them but carries some sweetmeats or some
 other dainty dish to nourish and feed  
them withal1 whose prayers they likewise
 earnestly solicit1 leaving them great  
alms of money for their masses2 and1    

above all1 offering to a picture in     
their church1 called our ,lady of       
,carmel1 treasures of diamonds1 pearls1 
golden chains1 and crowns1 and gowns of 
cloth of gold and silver4 ,before this  
picture did hang1 in my time1 twenty    
lamps of silver1 the poorest of them    
being worth a hundred pounds4 ,truly    
,satan hath given them what he offered  
unto ,christ in the desert4  ,all the   
dainties and all the riches of ,america 
hath he given unto them in that desert1 
because they daily fall down and worship
 him4 ,in the way to this place is      
another town1 called ,tacubaya1 where is
 a rich cloister of ,franciscans1 and   
also many gardens and orchards2 but it  
is1 above all1 much resorted to for the 
music in that church1 wherein the friars
 have made the ,indians so skillful that
 they dare compare with the ,cathedral  
,church of ,mexico4        #ch ,the     
,toltecs appeared first in the year     
#fdh1 the ,chicimecs       in #aagj1 the
 ,nahualtecs #aagh1 the ,atolhues and   

,aztecs in #aaif4       ,the ,toltecs   
introduced the cultivation of maize and 
cotton2 they       built cities1 made   
roads1 and constructed those great      
pyramids       which are yet admired1   
and of which the faces are very         
accurately       laid out4 ,they knew   
the use of hieroglyphical paintings2    
they       could work metals1 and cut   
the hardest stones2 and they had a      
solar year more perfect than that of the
 ,greeks and ,romans4 ,the       form of
 their government indicated that they   
were the descendants       of a people  
who had experienced great vicissitudes  
in their       social state4 ,but where 
is the source of that cultivation8      
,where       is the country from which  
the ,toltecs and ,mexicans              
issued8--,,humboldt1 ,essay ,politique1 
vol4 i4 p4 #ajj4     ,,chapter ,,xxi4   
,walk to ,guadalupe4--,our ,embassador  
kneeling to the ,host4--,an ,embassador 
with1 and one without ,lace4--,first    
sight of ,santa ,anna4--,indian ,dance  

in ,church4--,juan ,diego not ,saint    
,thomas4--,the ,miracle proved at       
,rome4--,the ,story of ,juan            
,diego4--,the holy ,well of             
,guadalupe4--,the ,temple of the        
,virgin4--,public ,worship interdicted  
by the ,archbishop4--,refuses to revoke 
his ,interdict4--,he fled to ,guadalupe 
and took ,sanctuary4--,refused to leave 
the ,altar4--,the ,arrest at the ,altar4
   ,placuit pinturas in ecclesia esse   
non debere1 ne quod colitur vel         
adoratur1 in parietibus                 
pingatur--,pictures ought not to be in  
the churches1 nor should any that are   
reverenced or adored be painted upon the
 walls4 ,so say the canons of the       
,council of ,toledo4  ,i was one of a   
vast crowd that1 on a ,sunday of        
,december1 #ahec1 were hurrying out of  
the city by the old gate and causeway of
 ,tepeac to the suburban village of     
,guadalupe ,hidalgo1 once ,tepeac1 but  
now consecrated to the ,virgin ,mary1   
who1 tradition says1 appeared there in a

 bodily form to an ,indian peon4 ,juan  
,diego was the name of the ,indian1 and 
#aeca is the date assigned to the       
incident4 ,i shall hereafter take       
occasion to relate the story as given by
 the veracious ,juan1 and duly attested 
by authority which ought to be competent
 to settle the question1 if any thing   
can do so4 ,i hope that my readers will 
do their best to believe it4 ,if they   
honestly endeavor to do so1 and do not  
succeed1 ,i trust they will not suffer  
on account of their lack of faith4  ,the
 occasion that was drawing the multitude
 together was the consecration of the   
bishop-elect of ,michoican1 which was to
 be celebrated with great pomp at this  
most sacred shrine of the patron goddess
 of the ,republic4 ,the ,state and the  
,church were duly represented upon the  
platform by the ,president1 the nuncio1 
and the archbishop4 ,beneath the        
platform1 and within the silver railing1
 were the official representatives of   
foreign nations1 who were easily        

distinguished by a strip of gold or     
silver lace upon the collars and lapels 
of their coats4 ,to this uniformity of  
dress there was a single exception in   
the person of the new ,american         
embassador1 ,mr4 ,gadsden1 whose plain  
black dress and clerical appearance     
would have conveyed the impression that 
he was a ,methodist preacher1 had he not
 been engaged1 with all the awkwardness 
of a novice1 upon his knees1 in crossing
 himself4  ,this was the first occasion 
on which ,i had ever seen ,santa ,anna4 
,if looks have any weight determining a 
man's character1 then truly he was      
entitled to his position1 for he was1 by
 all odds1 the most imposing in         
appearance of any person in that        
assemblage1 or any other ,i have yet    
seen in ,mexico4 ,his part in the       
performance was that of godfather to the
 bishop4 ,surrounded by kneeling        
aids-de-camp1 he alone stood up1 in the 
rich uniform of a general of division1  
seeming the perfection of military      

elegance and dignity4 ,each badge of    
prelatical rank1 before it was put upon 
the new bishop1 was handed to ,santa    
,anna1 who kissed it1 and then returned 
it4 ,he stood without apparent fatigue  
during the whole of that long ceremony4 
,i have often seen ,santa ,anna since   
that time1 but never have ,i seen him   
appear to such advantage as upon this   
occasion4   ,,the ,,bible ,,in ,,mexico4
  ,on the next ,sabbath ,i attended the 
,indian celebration of the appearance of
 the most blessed ,virgin4 ,during the  
,christmas holidays in the country of   
the ,pintos1 ,i had seen ,indians       
dressed up in whimsical attire1 enacting
 plays1 and singing and dancing2 but    
this was the first time that ,i had ever
 seen1 in a house dedicated to the      
worship of ,god1 or1 rather1 in a temple
 consecrated to the adoration of the    
,virgin1 fantastic dances performed by  
,indians under the supervision of       
priests and bishops4 ,when ,i found out 
what the entertainment was1 ,i was      

heartily vexed that ,i should be at such
 a place on the ,sabbath day4 ,the      
dancing and singing was bad enough1 but 
the climax was reached when the priest  
came down from the altar1 with an array 
of attendants having immense candles1 to
 the side door1 where the procession    
stopped to witness the discharge1 at    
mid-day1 of a large amount of fire-works
 in honor of the most blessed ,virgin   
,mary4  ,i hurried home from this       
profanation of the ,lord's day1 and sat 
down and contemplated the old ,aztec    
god1 who had been deified for his       
wisdom1 and could not but regret the    
change that had been imposed upon these 
imbecile ,indians4 ,the next ,sabbath   
after this was the national anniversary 
of the miraculous apparition2 but1      
having seen enough of this sort of      
thing1 ,i concluded that my ,sabbaths   
would be better spent in staying at home
 and reading a ,spanish ,testament1     
which had been brought into the country 
in violation of the law4 ,when ,i was   

first at the city of ,mexico1 ,governor 
,letcher related to me the stratagem by 
which he contrived to smuggle an        
,american ,bible agent out of the       
country when the police were after him1 
on an accusation of selling prohibited  
books6 for in such a country as this1   
the ,word of ,god is a prohibited book4 
,juan ,diego1 upon whose veracity rests 
the story of the miraculous appearance  
of the ,virgin1 was an ,indian peon2 and
 though1 like the rest of his race1 he  
probably was an habitual liar1 yet when 
he bears testimony to a miracle he is   
presumed to speak the truth4 ,he lived  
in a mud hut somewhere about the barren 
hill now consecrated to the ,virgin of  
,guadalupe4 ,the attempt to make out    
that it was ,saint ,thomas1 or the      
,wandering ,jew who here had an         
interview with the ,virgin ,mary1 and   
that the old rag on which the picture is
 painted is really a part of the cloak  
of ,saint ,thomas1 is1 by a very verbose
 proclamation of the ,archbishop of     

,mexico1 dated #beth ,march1 #agie1     
pronounced a damnable heresy4 ,i have in
 my possession a copy of this precious  
document1 bearing the signature of ,don 
,alonzo ,nunez de ,haro y ,peralto4  ,as
 ,i learn from the said proclamation    
that the adoration of this holy image   
picture exists not only in ,mexico1 but 
in ,south ,america and ,spain1 and that 
it has propagated itself in ,italy1     
,flanders1 ,germany1 ,austria1 ,bohemia1
 ,poland1 ,ireland1 and ,transylvania1  
,i shall be excused for giving the      
substance of this miraculous apparition1
 since it is now an article of belief of
 all good ,catholics1 having been proved
 before the ,congregation of ,rites at  
,rome to have been a miraculous         
appearance of the ,mother of ,god upon  
earth1 in the year and at the place     
aforesaid4 ,and the proclamation farther
 informs us that his holiness1 ,benedict
 ,,xiv41 was so fully persuaded of the  
truth of the tradition1 that he made    
cordial devotion to our ,lady of        

,guadalupe1 and conceded the proper mass
 and ritual of devotion4 ,he also made  
mention of it in the lesson of the      
second nocturnal4441 declaring from the 
high throne of the ,vatican that ,mary1 
most holy1 non fecit taliter omni       
nationi4   ,,story ,,of ,,juan ,,diego4 
,juan ,diego had a sick father1 and1    
like a good and pious son1 he started   
for the medicine-man4 ,he was stopped by
 the ,virgin at the spot where the round
 house on the extreme right of the      
picture is situated4 ,she reproached him
 with the slowness of the ,indians in   
embracing the new religion1 and at the  
same time she announced to him the      
important fact that she was to be the   
patron of the ,indians1 and also charged
 him to go and report the same to       
,zumarraga1 who then enjoyed the        
lucrative office of ,bishop of ,mexico4 
,juan obeyed the heavenly messenger1 but
 found himself turned out of doors as a 
lying ,indian4 ,the second time he went 
for the medicine-man he took another    

path1 but was again stopped on the way  
at the spot where the second round house
 now stands4 ,she now required him to go
 a second time to the bishop1 and1 in   
order to convince him of the truth of   
the story1 she directed the ,indian to  
climb to the top of the rock1 where he  
would find a bunch of roses growing out 
of the smooth porphyry4 ,the ,indian did
 as he was commanded1 and finding the   
roses in the place named1 he gathered   
them in his tilma1 and carried them to  
the bishop4 ,the spot is marked by a    
small chapel4 ,on opening his tilma     
before the bishop and a company of      
gentlemen assembled for that purpose1 it
 was found that the roses had imprinted 
themselves around a very coarse picture 
of the ,virgin4 ,this is the story of   
the miraculous appearance of our ,lady  
of ,guadalupe4  ,illustration3 ,,temple 
,,of ,,the ,,virgin ,,of ,,guadalupe4   
,the bishop was hard to convince at     
first1 but when he considered that the  
,indian could not himself paint1 and had

 no money with which to pay an artist1  
and1 above all1 as there was a fair     
chance of making money by the           
transaction1 he finally yielded to      
conviction4 ,his example was soon       
followed by the whole nation2 and then  
the several buildings1 one after        
another1 began to make their appearance4
 ,there was some difficulty at first in 
identifying the place of the first      
appearance of the ,virgin1 but this     
difficulty was removed by the ,virgin   
herself1 for she again appeared and     
stamped her foot upon the spot1         
whereupon there gushed forth a spring of
 mineral water4#ci ,this has proved an  
infallible cure for all diseases of body
 and mind1 and to it the ,indians resort
 to drink1 and wash1 and drink again1   
until it would seem that they must soon 
exhaust the fountain1 so great is the   
multitude that resort to this spring of 
the ,virgin4  ,the ,collegiate          
,church--for there can not be two       
,cathedrals in one diocese--is the      

principal building in the picture4 ,it  
is not large1 but it surpasses any thing
 ,i have yet seen for its immense       
accumulation of treasure1 excepting     
always the ,cathedral4 ,a railing formed
 of plates of pure silver incloses both 
the choir and the altar of the ,virgin4 
,these are joined together by a         
passageway1 which is inclosed by a      
portion of the same precious railing4   
,the golden candlesticks1 the golden    
shields1 and other ornaments of gold1   
dazzle the eyes of the beholder1 while  
the three rows of jewels1 one of pearls1
 one of emeralds1 and one of diamonds1  
encircling the holy image1 produce an   
impression not easily erased4 ,the      
contrast that is presented between these
 hoards of wealth and the extreme       
poverty of the multitude that here      
congregate is most striking4  ,the      
religion of ,mexico is a religion of    
priestly miracles1 and when the ordinary
 rules of evidence are applied to them1 
they and the religion that rests upon   

them fall together2 hence the necessity 
of exacting at the start a blind        
submission to authority1 and an         
abnegation of the reasoning faculties   
the moment the subject of religion is   
approached4 ,we have applied the        
ordinary rules of evidence to the       
romance of the ,conquest1 and we find   
that it will not stand the test of an   
examination4 ,but if we doubt the       
history of the ,conquest1 we must doubt 
the history of all the miracles of the  
,church1 for all of them rest on the    
like untenable grounds4 ,i did not      
wonder at finding the country abounding 
in unbelief4 ,now that the fires of the 
,inquisition have ceased to burn1 the   
priesthood are made the butt and        
laughing-stock of those who are         
educated4 ,still1 the national mind does
 not run toward the pure ,gospel1 which 
is here unknown and prohibited1 but to  
infidelity and socialism4 ,a sincere    
,protestant can have no sympathy with   
either side4   ,,an ,,interdict4  ,the  

following is ,thomas ,gage's account of 
an affair that took place in this temple
 in his time3  ,don ,alonzo de ,zerna1  
the archbishop1 who had always opposed  
,don ,pedro ,mexia and the ,virey1 to   
please the people1 granted to them to   
excommunicate ,don ,pedro1 and so sent  
out bills of excommunication1 to be     
fixed upon all the church doors1 against
 ,don ,pedro1 who1 not regarding the    
excommunication1 and keeping close at   
home1 and still selling his wheat at a  
higher price than before1 the archbishop
 raised his censure higher against him1 
by adding to it a bill of cessatio a    
divinis1 that is1 a cessation of all    
divine service4 ,this censure is so     
great with them that it is never used   
except for some great man's sake1 who is
 contumacious and stubborn in his ways1 
contemning the power of the ,church4    
,then are all the church doors shut up1 
let the city be never so great2 no      
masses are said2 no prayers are used2 no
 preaching permitted2 no meetings       

allowed for any public devotion2 no     
calling upon ,god4 ,the ,church mourns1 
as it were1 and makes no show of        
spiritual joy and comfort1 nor of any   
communion of prayers one with another1  
so long as the party remains stubborn   
and rebellious in his sin and scandal1  
and in not yielding to the ,church's    
censure4  ,and whereas1 by this         
cessation a divinis1 many churches1     
especially cloisters1 suffer in the     
means of their livelihood1 who live upon
 what is daily given for the masses they
 say1 and in a cloister where thirty or 
forty priests say mass1 so many pieces  
of eight dollars do daily come in1      
therefore this censure is inflicted upon
 the whole ,church1 that the party      
offending or scandalizing1 for whose    
sake this curse is laid upon all1 is    
bound to satisfy all priests and        
cloisters1 which1 in the way aforesaid1 
suffer1 and to allow them so much out of
 his means as they might have daily got 
by selling away their masses for so many

 dollars for their daily livelihood4 ,to
 this would the archbishop have brought 
,don ,pedro1 to have emptied out his    
purse1 nearly a thousand dollars daily1 
toward the maintenance of about a       
thousand priests1 so many there may be  
in ,mexico1 who from the altar sell away
 their bread god sacrament#dj to satisfy
 with bread and food their hungry       
stomachs4 ,and secondly1 by the people  
suffering in their spiritual comfort1   
and in their communion of prayers and   
worship1 thought to make ,don ,pedro    
odious to the people4 ,don ,pedro1      
perceiving the spiteful intent of the   
archbishop1 and hearing the outcries of 
the people against him1 and their cries 
for the use of their churches1 secretly 
retired to the palace of the ,virey1    
begging his favor and protection1 for   
whose sake he suffered4  ,the viceroy   
immediately sent out his orders         
commanding the bills of excommunication 
and cessatio a divinis to be pulled down
 from the church doors2 and to all the  

superiors of the cloisters to set open  
their churches1 and to celebrate their  
services and masses as formerly they had
 done4 ,but they disobeyed the vice-king
 through blind obedience to their       
archbishop4 ,the viceroy commanded the  
arch-prelate to revoke his censures2 but
 his answer was1 that what he had done  
had been justly done against a public   
offender and great oppressor of the     
poor1 whose cries had moved him to      
commiserate their suffering condition1  
and that the offender's contempt of his 
first excommunication had deserved the  
rigor of the second censure1 neither of 
which he would nor could revoke until   
,don ,pedro ,mexia had submitted himself
 to the ,church and to a public         
absolution1 and had satisfied the       
priests and the cloisters who suffered  
for him1 and had disclaimed that        
unlawful and unconscionable monopoly    
wherewith he wronged the whole          
commonwealth1 and especially the poorer 
sort therein4   ,,arrest ,,of ,,an      

,,archbishop4  ,the viceroy1 not        
brooking this saucy answer from a       
priest1 commanded him presently to be   
apprehended1 and to be taken under guard
 to ,san ,juan de ,ulua1 and then to be 
shipped to ,spain4 ,the archbishop1     
having notice of this resolution of the 
viceroy1 retired to ,guadalupe1 with    
many of his priests and prebends1       
leaving a bill of excommunication       
against the viceroy himself upon the    
church doors1 intending privately to fly
 to ,spain1 there to give an account of 
his carriage and behavior4 ,but he could
 not escape the care and vigilance of   
the viceroy1 who1 with his sergeant and 
officers1 pursued him to ,guadalupe1    
which the archbishop understanding1 he  
betook himself to the sanctuary of the  
church1 and there caused the candles to 
be lighted upon the altar1 and the      
sacrament of his bread god to be taken  
out of the tabernacle1 and attiring     
himself with his pontifical vestments1  
with his mitre on his head1 his crosier 

in one hand1 in the other he took his   
god of bread1 and thus1 with his train  
of priests about him at the altar1 he   
waited for the coming of the sergeant   
and officers1 whom he thought1 with his 
god in his hand1 and with a ,here ,i am1
 to astonish and amaze1 and to make     
them1 as did ,christ the ,jews in the   
garden1 to fall backward1 and disable   
them from laying hands on him4          
,,banishment ,,of ,,the ,,archbishop4   
,the officers1 coming into the church1  
went toward the altar where the bishop  
stood1 and1 kneeling down first to      
worship their god1 made short prayers2  
which being ended1 they propounded unto 
the bishop1 with courteous and fair     
words1 the cause of their coming to that
 place1 requiring him to lay down the   
sacrament the consecrated wafer1 and to 
come out of the church1 and to hear the 
notification of what orders they brought
 unto him in the king's name4 ,to whom  
the archbishop replied1 that whereas    
their master the viceroy was            

excommunicated1 he looked upon him as   
one out of the pale of the ,church1 and 
one without any power or authority to   
command him in the house of ,god1 and so
 required them1 as they regarded the    
good of their souls1 to depart          
peaceably1 and not to infringe the      
privileges and immunities of the ,church
 by exercising in it any legal act of   
secular power and command2 and that he  
would not go out of the church unless   
they durst take him and the sacrament   
together4 ,with this the head officer1  
named ,tiroll1 stood up and notified    
unto him an order1 in the king's name1  
to apprehend his person in what place   
soever he should find him1 and to guard 
him to the port of ,san ,juan de ,ulua1 
and there to deliver him to whom by     
farther order he should be directed     
thereto1 to be shipped to ,spain as a   
traitor to the king's crown1 a troubler 
of the common peace1 and an author and  
mover of sedition in the commonwealth4  
,the archbishop1 smiling to ,tiroll1    

answered him1 ',thy master useth too    
high terms and words1 which do better   
agree unto himself1 for ,i know no      
mutiny or sedition like to trouble the  
commonwealth1 unless it be by his and   
,don ,pedro ,mexia his oppressing of the
 poor4 ,and as for thy guarding me to   
,san ,juan de ,ulua1 ,i conjure thee by 
,jesus ,christ1 whom thou knowest ,i    
hold in my hands1 not to use here any   
violence in ,god's house1 from whose    
altar ,i am resolved not to depart2 take
 heed ,god punish you not1 as he did    
,jeroboam for stretching forth his hand 
at the altar against the prophet2 let   
his withered hand remind thee of thy    
duty4' ,but ,tiroll suffered him not to 
squander away the time and ravel it out 
with farther preaching1 but called to   
the altar a priest1 whom he had brought 
for the purpose1 and commanded him1 in  
the king's name1 to take the sacrament  
wafer out of the archbishop's hand2     
which the priest doing1 the archbishop1 
unvesting himself of his pontificals1   

yielded himself unto ,tiroll2 and1      
taking his leave of all his prebends1   
requiring them to be witnesses of what  
had been done1 he went prisoner to ,san 
,juan de ,ulua1 where he was delivered  
to the custody of the governor of the   
castle1 and1 not many days after1 was   
sent in a ship prepared for that purpose
 to ,spain1 to the king in council1 with
 a full charge of all his carriages and 
misdemeanors4        #ci ,this water is 
impregnated with carbonic acid1 sulphate
 of       lime1 and soda4        #dj ,it
 is difficult to convey to ,protestant  
readers the idea       which the        
,spaniards attach to the sacramental    
bread or wafer       after the priest   
has pronounced the words of             
consecration4 ,they       call it both  
,god and ,jesus ,christ1 and claim for  
it divine       worship4     ,,chapter  
,,xxii4  ,the old ,indian ,city of      
,mexico4--,the ,mosques4--,probable     
,extent of ,civilization4--,aztecs      
acquired ,arts of the ,toltecs4--,toltec

 ,civilization1 ancient and             
original4--,the ,pyramid of             
,papantla4--,the ,plunder of            
,civilization4--,mexico as described by 
,cortez4--,montezuma's ,court4--,the    
eight ,months that ,cortez held         
,montezuma4--,what happened for the next
 ten ,months4--,the ,siege of ,mexico by
 ,cortez4--,aztecs conquered by ,famine 
and ,thirst4--,heroes on ,paper and     
,victories without ,bloodshed4--,cortez 
and ,morgan4   ,as we have carefully    
surveyed the suburbs1 and all the valley
 of ,mexico1 it is time to take a survey
 of the city itself1 and examine its    
condition at different periods of its   
history4   ,,the ,,mexico ,,of ,,the    
,,aztecs4  ,the ,aztec city of ,mexico  
perished with its conquest by the       
,spaniards4 ,day by day1 as the siege   
went on1 the ,indians that followed the 
soldiers pulled the houses down1 when   
the latter had passed1 and threw the    
rubbish into the canals2 so that1 on the
 day on which the conquest was effected1

 the city ceased to exist4 ,many times  
has that old city been restored1 in the 
imagination of enthusiasts1 with its    
forty pyramids 7teocallis7 and          
unnumbered palaces1 adorned with all the
 luxury and magnificence of the most    
refined civilization1 united with       
barbaric grandeur and inhumanity in so  
strange a combination as to distract our
 feelings between hate and admiration4  
,it was easy to build an ,indian city   
that would present a most imposing      
appearance1 for the climate was well    
fitted for drying mud thoroughly4       
,besides1 there was an inexhaustible    
supply of pumice-stone 7tepetate71 and  
an exceedingly soft1 gray quarry stone1 
for caps and lintels1 with an excellent 
quality of cement1 and material for     
fresco painting of the walls1 abundant  
and cheap4 ,all these articles are      
combined in the building of the modern  
city1 and give it its present appearance
 of elegance and great durability4 ,but 
in the old city1 one-story palaces of   

dried mud1 plastered and frescoed1 with 
large interior courts like that ,i have 
described at ,tezcuco1 must have been   
among the most imposing structures4 ,if 
tepetate was employed in the            
construction of the royal palaces1 it   
would not have added materially to the  
weight resting upon the earthy          
foundations2 for when the water in the  
ditches occupied half the street1#da the
 foundations must have been so much     
softer than at present1 that structures 
of the lightest material only could be  
borne4  ,in his anxiety to keep up a    
resemblance between his conquests and   
that of ,granada1 ,cortez calls the     
teocallis1 or ,indian mounds which he   
found1 mosques1 and speaks of forty     
towers1 the largest of which has fifty  
steps leading to its main body1 and is  
higher than the tower of the principal  
church in ,seville4#db ,bernal ,diaz    
says there were #aae steps to the       
summit4#dc ,i must reduce the size of   
this great pyramid to the size of the   

isolated rock that the ,cathedral is    
said to occupy4 ,the difficulty of      
getting rid of the earth that composed  
these forty artificial mountains does   
not seem to have troubled historians so 
much as it would a contractor4 ,i have  
often thought that those hillocks of    
earth on the north side of the town were
 once small artificial mounds on which  
the ,indians offered their worship1 for 
in the canal near by was found that     
collection of clay divinities of which  
,i have already spoken4  ,the difficulty
 in the way of forming a correct idea of
 that old city1 is owing to the         
defective character of our witnesses4   
,the one confesses to the habitual      
practice of falsehood for the purpose of
 deceiving the ,indians2 the other      
acknowledges practices that render the  
character of both infamous1 and would   
make their testimony of no weight in a  
court of justice unless corroborated4   
,we must therefore feel our way as best 
we can4  ,with the rude implements of   

the ,indians1 houses of the driest      
blocks of mud1 though covered with      
cement and painted with colored wash1   
could easily have been thrown down2 but 
gunpowder or iron bars would have been  
necessary to overturn a wall composed   
either of stone or tepetate and cement4 
,villages built of dried mud are often  
imposing in their appearance1 and are   
yet most perishable2 for the first      
overflow of waters1 that shall cover but
 a few inches of the walls of the       
houses1 will in a few hours reduce a    
whole village to a mass of ruins4       
,again1 the dry wall that has fallen    
becomes saturated1 and dissolves itself 
into soft mud4 ,my hypothesis is1       
therefore1 not without its difficulty1  
for at every inundation of the city in  
the times of the ,aztecs we have to     
suppose it totally destroyed2 an evil   
that could not be remedied until the    
water had entirely subsided1 and new mud
 had been formed into blocks and dried  
in the sun1 and a new village or city   

built every twenty-five years4  ,to sum 
up my theory of ,aztec civilization3    
they had earthen gods1 earthen cooking  
utensils1 and earthen aqueducts2 their  
temples were small buildings1 upon      
moderately-sized ,indian burial mounds1 
and their palaces and sacred inclosures 
were of dried mud1 and of a single story
 in height4   ,,the ,,toltecs4  ,with   
this solution1 the difficulty that      
occurred to ,humboldt is in part        
removed1 viz41 that the allotted        
time--one hundred and seventy years--was
 too short a period in which to         
transform a tribe of ,north ,american   
,indians into a settled community4 ,the 
remainder of the difficulty is explained
 by an event taking place in our own    
days4 ,it is hardly thirty years since  
the ,apache ,indians began the          
systematic plunder of the northern      
states of ,mexico1 and now even these   
nomades begin to show the first         
glimmerings of civilization4 ,their     
captives teach them the use of much of  

the plunder they have brought to their  
own villages4 ,though their treatment of
 female captives is inhuman1 yet it is  
not an uncommon thing for a captive to  
become a wife1 and to introduce into her
 wigwam1 and to inculcate upon the minds
 of her children1 a few of the primary  
ideas of civilization4 ,it is the       
commonly received notion that the       
,toltecs abandoned the table-land about 
the time of the arrival of the ,aztecs1 
but continued to flourish in the region 
of the ,gulf coast and in other parts of
 the hot country2 that the vast ruins   
which abound in those regions were      
inhabited cities till within a few      
generations of the coming of the        
,spaniards2 and that in ,yucatan1 the   
part most distant from ,mexico1 that    
civilization continued quite down to    
that period2 that for a great portion of
 the one hundred and seventy years of   
their national existence1 the ,aztecs   
kept up predatory excursions into the   
,toltec region1 and out of its dense    

population derived an inexhaustible     
supply of slaves and the plunder of     
civilization1 included in which may have
 been the best wrought of the stone     
idols that are still preserved4 ,so that
 the ,aztec civilization resolves itself
 into the very ancient civilization of  
the ,toltecs4   ,,pyramid ,,of          
,,papantla4  ,we have removed to a      
greater antiquity1 but have not got rid 
of the question of the origin of        
,mexican civilization4 ,the year #fjj1  
named by ,humboldt1 may be considered as
 the time of their appearance on the    
table-land2 out many of the ruins in the
 hot country might claim a thousand     
years earlier antiquity4 ,these massive 
remains must have stood1 abandoned as   
they are now1 in the midst of the       
forest1 for a long time before the      
,conquest1 as their very existence was  
unknown to the ,spaniards until near the
 close of the last century4 ,the close  
resemblance between the apparently most 
ancient of these works1 and those of the

 ,egyptianss and other ,eastern         
civilizations1 does not involve the idea
 of a common origin or of intercourse1  
but only leads to the suggestion that   
the human race1 in its progress1        
naturally follows the same path1 whether
 upon the eastern or western continent1 
and that it is separated by a cycle of  
thousands of years from the civilization
 of our day4 ,as a specimen of the works
 of the ,toltecs1 ,i insert a sketch of 
the pyramid of ,papantla4               
,illustration3 ,,pyramid ,,of           
,,papantla4  ,the pyramid of ,papantla1 
says ,humboldt1#dd is not constructed   
like the pyramids of ,cholula and       
,mexico4 ,the only materials employed   
are immense stones4 ,mortar is          
distinguished in the seams4 ,the        
edifice1 however1 is not so remarkable  
for its size as for its symmetry1 the   
polish of the stones1 and the great     
regularity of their cut4 ,the base of   
the pyramid is an exact square1 each    
side being eighty-two feet in length4   

,the perpendicular height appears not to
 be more than from fifty-two to         
sixty-five feet4 ,this monument1 like   
all the ,mexican teocallis1 is composed 
of several stages4 ,six are still       
distinguishable1 and a seventh appears  
to be concealed by the vegetation with  
which the sides of the pyramid are      
covered4 ,a great stairway of           
fifty-seven steps conducts to the       
truncated top of the teocalli1 where the
 human victims were sacrificed4 ,on each
 side of the great stairs is a flight of
 small stairs4 ,the facing of the       
stories is adorned with hieroglyphics1  
in which serpents and crocodiles1 carved
 in relievo1 are discernible4 ,each     
story contains a great number of square 
niches1 symmetrically distributed4 ,in  
the first story we reckon twenty-four on
 each side1 in the second twenty1 and in
 the third sixteen4 ,the number of these
 niches in the body of the pyramid is   
three hundred and sixty-six1 and there  
are twelve in the stairs toward the     

east4 ,the ,abbe ,marquez supposes that 
this number of three hundred and        
seventy-eight niches has some allusion  
to a calendar of the ,mexicans1 and he  
even believes that in each of them one  
of the twenty figures was repeated1     
which1 in the hieroglyphical language of
 the ,toltecs1 served as a symbol for   
marking the days of the common year1 and
 the intercalated days at the end of the
 cycles4 ,the year being composed of    
eighteen months of twenty days1 there   
would then be three hundred and sixty   
days1 to which1 agreeable to the        
,egyptian practice1 five complementary  
days were added4444 ,this pyramid was   
visited by ,m4 ,dupe1 a captain in the  
service of the ,king of ,spain4 ,he     
possesses the bust1 in basalt1 of a     
,mexican1 which ,i employed ,m4 ,massard
 to engrave1 and which bears great      
resemblance to the calautica of the     
heads of ,isis4  ,i prefer in this way  
to copy from an author of unquestionable
 authority an important historical fact1

 rather than to search for less         
accessible sources of evidence on which 
,i rest the theory1 that what of this   
kind we have seen at the city of ,mexico
 are but fragments from the wreck that  
befell the ,american civilization of    
antiquity1 which had succumbed before   
the inroads of northern savages4 ,this  
is sufficient inquiry into antiquities  
till we come to the museum4   ,,mexico  
,,according ,,to ,,cortez4  ,it is but  
justice to add the substance of         
,cortez's account of this ancient city1 
which is embodied in the following      
paragraphs3  ,this noble city contains  
many fine and magnificent houses1 which 
may be accounted for from the fact that 
all the nobility of the country1 who are
 the vassals of ,montezuma1 have houses 
in the city1 in which they reside a     
certain part of the year2 and1 besides1 
there are numerous wealthy citizens who 
also possess fine houses4 ,all these    
persons1 in addition to the large and   
spacious apartments for ordinary        

purposes1 have others1 both upper and   
lower1 that contain conservatories of   
flowers4 ,along one of the causeways the
 ,chapultepec that lead into the city   
are laid two water pipes1 constructed of
 masonry1 each of which is two paces in 
width1 and about five feet in height4444
 ,the inhabitants of this city pay      
greater regard to the style of their    
mode of living1 and are more attentive  
to elegance of dress and politeness of  
manners than those of other provinces   
and cities1 since1 as the cacique       
,montezuma has his residence in the     
capital1 and all the nobility1 his      
vassals1 are in the constant habit of   
meeting there1 a general courtesy of    
demeanor necessarily prevails4444 ,for1 
as ,i have already stated1 what can be  
more wonderful than that a barbarous    
monarch1 as he is1 should have every    
object found in his dominions imitated  
in gold1 silver1 precious stones1 and   
feathers1 the gold and silver being     
wrought so naturally as not to be       

surpassed by any smith in the world1 the
 stone-work executed with such          
perfection that it is difficult to      
conceive what instruments could have    
been used1 and the feather-work superior
 to the finest production in wax and    
embroidery8444 ,he possessed out of the 
city as well as within numerous villas1 
each of which had its peculiar sources  
of amusement1 and all were constructed  
in the best possible manner for the use 
of a great prince or lord4 ,within the  
city1 his palaces were so wonderful that
 it is hardly possible to describe their
 beauty and extent4 ,i can only say that
 in ,spain there is nothing equal to    
them4 ,there was one palace somewhat    
inferior to the rest1 attached to which 
was a beautiful garden1 with balconies  
extending over it1 supported by marble  
columns1 and having a floor formed of   
jasper elegantly inlaid4 ,there were    
apartments in this palace sufficient to 
lodge two princes of the highest rank   
with their retinues4444 ,the emperor has

 another beautiful palace1 with a large 
court-yard paved with handsome flags in 
the style of a chess-board4  ,every day1
 as soon as it was light1 six hundred   
nobles and men of rank were in          
attendance at the palace1 who either sat
 or walked about the halls and          
galleries1 and passed their time in     
conversation1 but without entering the  
apartments where his person was4444     
,daily his larder and wine-cellar#de    
were open to all who wished to eat and  
drink4 ,the meals were served by three  
hundred youths1 who brought on an       
infinite variety of dishes2 indeed1     
whenever he dined or supped1 the table  
was loaded with every kind of flesh1    
fish1 and vegetables that the country   
produced4 ,the meals were served in a   
large hall1 in which ,montezuma was     
accustomed to eat1 and the dishes quite 
filled the room1 which was covered with 
mats1 and kept very clean4 ,he sat on a 
small cushion curiously wrought of      
leather4#df ,he is also dressed four    

times every day in four different suits 
entirely new1 which he never wears a    
second time4 ,none of the caciques who  
enter his palace have their feet        
covered1 and when those for whom he     
sends enter his presence1 they incline  
their heads and look down1 bending their
 bodies2 and when they address him1 they
 do not look him in the face2 this      
arises from excessive modesty and       
reverence4444#dg ,no sultan or other    
infidel lord1 of whom any knowledge now 
exists1 ever had so much ceremonial in  
his court4   ,,proceedings ,,of ,,the   
,,spaniards4  ,it was in the spring of  
#aeai that ,cortez and his company had  
landed at ,vera ,cruz4 ,from that point 
they had marched toward ,mexico without 
opposition1 except the skirmishes with  
the ,tlascalans1 and without opposition 
they had entered the city of ,mexico on 
the #eth of ,november1 #aeai4 ,here they
 had been received with every mark of   
hospitality and treated with every      
kindness4 ,but this did not prevent     

their treacherously seizing the person  
of their host1 and making him a prisoner
 in their quarters4 ,in his name they   
had governed his tribe1 and ransacked   
his dominions in search of the treasures
 collected by the gold-washers1 and had 
even interfered in the religious worship
 of a superstitious people1 and         
murdered1 in cold blood1 a party of     
their chiefs celebrating an ,indian     
feast4 ,still there had been no war1    
until ,ordaz was sent1 with his four    
hundred men1 to recapture the concubines
 of ,cortez1 who had been rescued1 as   
already mentioned4 ,this was in ,july of
 the following year1 eight months after 
their first entry into ,mexico1 and on  
the #ajth of ,july1 #aebj1 the          
licentious rule of the ,spaniards at    
,mexico was terminated by the events of 
the triste noche4  ,the mere handful    
that had at first entered the city had  
been increased by the army of ,narvaez1 
so that when the news reached ,cortez   
that ,alvarado and the eighty odd men   

that had been left with him in the city 
were threatened with difficulty1 he     
marched a well-appointed army of        
fourteen hundred men1 besides two       
hundred ,tlascalans1 to his relief4     
,their retreat to ,tlascala has already 
been described1 the character of the    
brigantines has been discussed1 as well 
as the absurd story of his having dug a 
slip or launching canal at ,tezcuco1    
twelve feet broad and twelve feet deep4 
,we have seen that the towns and        
villages said to have been built in the 
lake1 and the still greater number of   
large towns on the main land1 could only
 have been petty ,indian hamlets1 and   
that the central portions of the valley 
of ,mexico would not have been habitable
 if the lakes of ,mexico had been any   
thing more than evaporation ponds4 ,and1
 lest ,i should venture too far1 ,i will
 conclude this remark by adverting to   
the testimony of ,diaz1 which concedes  
that when his book was written the face 
of the country was substantially as it  

now is1 and as ,i have already described
 it to be4 ,but he endeavors to save the
 story of the ,conquest by the shallow  
pretense that1 during the few years that
 intervened between that event and the  
date of his history1 the whole face of  
the country had completely changed4#dh  
,the great mystery is why so large a    
body of ,spaniards1 if they really      
amounted to the number claimed by       
,cortez1 should have retreated from the 
city at all1 as they do not complain of 
being short of provisions4 ,they had the
 great teocalli for a fortress1 on which
 they might have planted their cannon1  
and leveled the city in a few days1 if  
not in a few hours1 and the great ,plaza
 in which to manoeuvre their cavalry and
 protect the ,indians while leveling the
 rubbish of the broken walls4 ,but a    
panic having seized them1 and having    
escaped from the city by a badly-managed
 night retreat1 ten months elapsed      
before the ,spaniards1 on the #acth of  
,may1 #aeba1 laid siege to the city4    

,and with varying success the siege was 
continued just three months1 until      
,guatemozin was taken prisoner1 on the  
#acth of ,august1 #aeba1 so that the    
siege was carried on in the midst of the
 rainy season1 when the flats must have 
been covered with water1 and the ditches
 well filled4 ,no difficulty was        
experienced in bringing up his          
flat-boats to the sides of the muddy    
causeways1 or in cutting off the        
supplies of provisions by water1 or in  
breaking down the earthen aqueduct of   
,chapultepec1 so that the ,indians were 
finally subdued by the combined forces  
of hunger and thirst4 ,when1 the ,aztecs
 were so enfeebled by want that they    
could no longer offer resistance1 the   
,spaniards rushed into the town1 seized 
the unresisting ,guatemozin1 and shouted
 victory4   ,,indian ,,warfare4  ,it    
requires a familiarity with ,spanish    
character1 and the ,moorish1 ,oriental  
origin of their literature1 in order to 
read ,spanish-,american military annals 

understandingly1 as much so as it does a
 knowledge of ,indian character in order
 to sift out the truth from accounts of 
,indian wars4 ,the superstitious dread  
which the ,aztecs at all times evinced  
for the ,spanish horses and horsemen is 
common to all savages4#di ,the          
appearance of two or three horses1 kept 
ready for that purpose1 was sufficient  
to restore the battle after the         
,spaniards had taken to their heels4    
,and while the facts of the siege amount
 to little more than keeping possession 
of the narrow causeways1 by aid of      
superior implements of war1 until famine
 and thirst had done their work1 yet the
 ,spanish histories of the ,conquest    
make it to surpass in interest1 and in  
the magnitude of forces engaged1 almost 
any siege on record4 ,and so plausibly  
is the narrative written1 that the      
reader drinks it in with breathless     
anxiety1 without once stopping to ask   
himself how so many hundreds of         
thousands of ,indians could be fed in a 

salt valley1 inclosed by high mountains1
 without the aid of a regularly         
organized commissariat department1 or   
how such masses of undisciplined        
,indians could be manoeuvred upon a     
narrow causeway1 where numbers add no   
strength1 but only tend to augment the  
confusion--where1 as in this case1 there
 had to be a daily advance and retreat  
in presence of an active enemy4         
,,improbability ,,of ,,cortez',s        
,,account4  ,the interesting note which 
we have copied describes an event within
 the memory of the present generation4  
,and it is well recollected what        
trepidation was caused in that colony of
 the ,british ,empire by the approach to
 the frontier of a nation of barbarians 
who despised fear1 whose religion was   
war1 and who knew no sin like that of   
turning the back to any enemy4 ,yet a   
hundred horsemen1 with firearms1 from a 
missionary village1 unaccustomed to war1
 were sufficient to turn back this      
mighty host of brave savages4 ,it can   

not be claimed that the ,aztecs were    
superior to these ,mantatees1 or that   
the force of ,cortez was inferior in    
equipment to the hundred unwarlike      
,griquas whose thunder and lightning 7as
 they termed the musketry7 drove them   
back4 ,the missionary was a ,protestant1
 a man of truth1 and had no glory to    
win1 and therefore told only the simple 
truth4 ,cortez1 out of a much inferior  
affair1 has fabricated a romance1 with  
such verisimilitude that he has         
astonished the world by an account of   
achievements which he never performed4  
,to write well is nine tenths of a hero2
 and in the time of ,cortez1 as it is   
even now at ,mexico1 it was the easiest 
thing imaginable to manufacture an      
astonishing victory out of the very     
smallest amount of material4 ,if no     
lives were lost in the battle1 so much  
more astounding is the victory4 ,this   
practice of sacrificing human life is   
only a modification of cannibalism1 and 
the very mission on which the ,spaniards

 came to ,mexico was to extinguish that 
crime1 so that they would jeopardize    
their title to the country should they  
presume to shed the blood of each other 
in their interminable wars4 ,and so long
 as only women1 and children1 and       
,indians are the sufferers1 they do no  
violence to the rules of warfare which  
,cortez and the ,conquistadors          
introduced4 ,the armies of ,mexico have 
never been deficient in good writers2 a 
specimen of the capacity of one of them 
,i have already given in the chapter on 
,texas2 so that their stately and       
dignified histories of the national     
squabbles of the last thirty years are  
equal to ,cortez in gross exaggeration1 
and not a whit behind him in elegance of
 composition4   ,,morgan ,,and ,,cortez4
  ,a hundred years after the conquest of
 ,mexico1 there sailed out of the harbor
 of ,port ,royal1 now ,kingston1 in     
,jamaica1 an unlawful military          
enterprise1 about equal in force to that
 with which ,cortez first landed at     

,vera ,cruz1 but immensely inferior to  
the panic-stricken host that fled by    
night from the city of ,mexico4 ,the    
fitting out of this unlawful expedition1
 like that of ,cortez1 had the          
connivance of the local authorities4    
,the difference between the two was1    
that ,morgan did not understand the     
,spanish ,oriental style of proclaiming 
his own heroism1 and furthermore1 his   
expedition was not directed against a   
miserably-armed rabble of ,indians1 but 
against the fortified city of ,panama1  
held by a garrison of royal troops4     
,mooring his little fleet in the harbor 
of ,chagres1 ,morgan marched his small  
force across the ,isthmus1 which then   
presented greater difficulties to his   
passage with cannon and munitions of war
 than ,cortez encountered in his march  
to ,mexico4 ,like ,cortez in his first  
expedition1 ,morgan met with no         
opposition in his first visit to        
,panama1 but1 with his men1 lived at    
free quarters in rioting and debauchery1

 committing those atrocities that       
pirates alone can commit1 until1 their  
appetites and their passions being      
satiated1 they returned to the ,gulf    
coast1 taking with them the plunder of a
 city which was then the depository of  
the treasures drawn from ,south         
,america4 ,they returned a second time  
to ,panama1 as ,cortez did to ,mexico4  
,this time they met with resistance1 but
 they carried the town by assault1 and  
devoted it to utter destruction4 ,their 
efforts were seconded by a terrible     
earthquake1 from which the people fled1 
and built a new city at a distance of a 
few miles from the ruins4  ,for more    
than two hundred years the rank         
vegetation of a tropical forest has been
 driving its massive roots beneath its  
foundations1 and yet the ruins of       
,panama still bear the marks of having  
once been a city of much magnificence4  
,two massive stone bridges1 a pavement1 
diverse broken walls1 and a solid tower 
standing up above the tops of the tall  

forest-trees1 proclaim the              
incontrovertible fact that the traces of
 a large city can not be altogether     
blotted out in the course of a few      
centuries4  ,morgan has never gratified 
the world with a narrative of his       
adventures1 nor has any of his gang     
enlightened us with a history of the    
conquest of ,panama1 nor has any ,saxon 
bishop ,lorenzana yet been found so lost
 to all moral sense as to commend the   
piety of such infamous men4 ,and yet1 in
 the boldness of his enterprise1 in the 
courage of its execution1 in the amount 
of plunder realized1 in military talent 
and prowess1 ,morgan the pirate was     
incalculably superior to ,cortez the    
hero4        #da ,,cortez1 ,letters1 p4 
#aaa4        #db ,ibid4        #dc      
,diaz1 p4 #bdg4        #dd ,essai       
,politique1 vol4 ii4 p4 #agb4        #de
 ,this is a little too strong a         
statement1 considering that       there 
never was and never could be a cellar at
 ,mexico4        #df ,the naked negro   

alcalde mentioned in ,chapter ,,xii4 was
 also       seated on a leather cushion4
        #dg ,this is not all fancy4 ,no 
people in the world show more           
profound reverence to the aged or       
deference to their chiefs than       the
 ,north ,american ,indians4        #dh  
,iztapalapan was at that time a town of 
considerable       magnitude1 built half
 in the water and half on dry land4 ,the
 spot       where it stood is at present
 all dry land2 and where vessels once   
sailed up and down1 seeds are sown and  
harvests gathered4 ,in       fact1 the  
whole face of the country is so         
completely changed1       that he who   
had not seen these parts previously     
would scarcely       believe that waves 
had ever rolled over the spot where now 
fertile corn-plantations extend         
themselves to all sides1 so             
wonderfully have all things changed here
 in a short space of                    
time4--,,bernal ,,diaz1 vol4 i4 p4 #bbj4
        #di ,moffatt's ,southern        

,africa1 page #bdb1 furnishes the       
following       complete illustration of
 the effect produced by horsemen and    
fire-arms upon savage warriors4 ,the    
commando approached within       #aej   
yards with a view to beckon some one to 
come out4 ,on this1       the enemy     
commenced their terrible howl1 and at   
once discharged       their clubs and   
javelins4 ,their black1 dismal          
appearance and       savage fury1 with  
their hoarse and stentorian voices1 were
       calculated to daunt2 and the     
,griquas horsemen1 on their first       
attack1 wisely retreated to a short     
distance1 and then drew up4             
,waterboer1 the chief1 commenced firing1
 and leveled one of their       warriors
 to the ground2 several more instantly  
shared the same       fate4 ,it was     
confidently expected that their courage 
would be       daunted when they saw    
their warriors fall by an invisible     
weapon1       and it was hoped they     
would be humbled and alarmed1 that thus 

further bloodshed might be prevented4   
,though they beheld with                
astonishment the dead and the stricken  
warriors writhing in the       dust1    
they looked with lion-like fierceness at
 the horsemen1 and       yelled         
vengeance1 violently wrenching the      
weapons from the hands       of their   
dying companions to supply the place of 
those they had       discharged at their
 antagonists4 ,sufficient intervals were
       afforded1 and every encouragement
 held out for them to make              
proposals1 but all was ineffectual4     
,they sallied forth with       increased
 vigor1 so as to oblige the ,griquas to 
retreat1 though       only to a short   
distance1 for they never attempted to   
pursue       above #bjj yards from their
 camp4 ,the firing1 though without any  
order1 was very destructive1 as each    
took a steady aim4 ,many of       their 
chief men fell victims to their own     
temerity1 after       manifesting       
undaunted spirit4 ,again and again the  

chiefs and ,mr4       ,melville met to  
deliberate on how to act to prevent     
bloodshed       among a people who      
determined to die rather than flee1     
which they       could easily have done4
        ,soon after the battle          
commenced1 the ,bechuanas came up1 and  
united in playing on the enemy with     
poisoned arrows1 but they       were    
soon driven back2 half a dozen of the   
fierce ,mantatees the       enemy made  
the whole body scamper off in wild      
disorder4 ,after       two hours and a  
half's combat1 the ,griquas1 finding    
their       ammunition fast diminishing1
 at the almost certain risk of loss     
of life1 began to storm charge1 when the
 enemy gave way1 taking       a westerly
 direction4 ,the horsemen1 however1     
intercepted them1       when they       
immediately descended toward the ravine1
 as if       determined not to return by
 the way they came1 which they          
crossed1 but were again intercepted4 ,on
 turning round they seemed              

desperate1 but were again soon repulsed4
 ,great confusion now       prevailed1  
the ground being very stony1 which      
rendered it       difficult to manage   
the horses4 ,at this moment an awful    
scene was       presented to the view4  
,the undulating country around was      
covered       with warriors all in      
motion1 so that it was difficult to say 
who       were enemies or who were      
friends4 ,clouds of dust were rising    
from       the immense masses1 who      
appeared flying with terror or pursuing 
with fear4 ,to the alarming confusion   
was added the bellowing of       oxen1  
the vociferations of the yet            
unvanquished warriors1 mingled          
with the groans of the dying1 and the   
widows' piercing wail1 and       the    
cries from infant voices4 ,the enemy    
again directed their       course toward
 a town which was in possession of a    
tribe of the       same people still    
more numerous4 ,here again another      
desperate       struggle ensued1 when   

they appeared determined to inclose the 
horsemen within the smoke and flames of 
the houses1 through which       they    
were slowly passing1 giving the enemy   
time to escape4 ,at       last1 seized  
with despair1 they fled precipitately4  
,it had been       observed during the  
fight that some women went backward and 
forward to the town1 only about half a  
mile distant1 apparently       with the 
most perfect indifference to their      
fearful situation4       ,while the     
commando was struggling between hope and
 despair of       being able to rout the
 enemy1 information was brought that the
       half of the enemy1 under ,choane1
 were reposing in the town1       within
 sound of the guns1 perfectly regardless
 of the fate of the       other         
division1 under the command of          
,karagauye4 ,it was supposed       they 
possessed entire confidence in the yet  
invincible army of       the latter1    
being the more warlike of the two4      
,humanly speaking1       had both       

parties been together1 the day would    
have been lost1       when they would   
with perfect ease have carried          
devastation into       the centre of the
 colony of the ,cape4 ,when both parties
 were       united1 they set fire to all
 parts of the town1 and appeared to     
be taking their departure1 proceeding in
 an immense body toward       the north4
 ,if their number may be calculated by  
the space of       ground occupied by   
the entire body1 it must have amounted  
to       upward of #dj1jjj4 ,the        
,griquas pursued them about eight miles2
 and       though they continued        
desperate1 they seemed filled with      
terror       at the enemies by whom they
 had been overcome4444 ,as fighting was 
not my province1 ,i avoided discharging 
a single shot1 though1 at       the     
request of ,mr4 ,melville and the       
chiefs1 ,i remained with the            
commando as the only means of safety4   
,seeing the savage ferocity       of the
 ,bechuanas in killing the inoffensive  

women and children       for the sake of
 a few paltry rings1 or to boast that   
they had       killed some of the       
,mantatees1 ,i turned my attention to   
these       objects of pity1 who were   
flying in consternation in all          
directions4 ,by my galloping in among   
them1 many of the ,bechuanas       were 
deterred from their barbarous purpose4  
,shortly after they       began to      
retreat1 the women1 seeing that mercy   
was shown them1       instead of flying1
 generally sat down1 and1 baring their  
bosoms1       exclaimed1 ',i am a woman4
 ,i am a woman4' ,it seemed impossible  
for       the men to yield4 ,there were 
several instances of wounded men        
being surrounded by fifty ,bechuanas1   
but it was not till life was            
almost extinct that a single one would  
allow himself to be       conquered4 ,i 
saw more than one instance of a man     
fighting boldly       with ten or twelve
 spears or arrows fixed in his body4444 
,the       men1 struggling with death1  

would raise themselves from the         
ground1 and discharge their weapons at  
any one of our number       within their
 reach3 their hostile and revengeful    
spirit only       ceased when life was  
extinct4 ,contemplating this deadly     
conflict1       we could not but admire 
the mercy of ,god that not one of our   
number was killed1 and only one slightly
 wounded4 ,one ,bechuana       lost his 
life while too eagerly seeking for      
plunder4 ,the slain of       the enemy  
was between four and five hundred4      
,the ,mantatees are a tall1 robust      
people1 in features resembling       the
 ,bechuanas2 the dress1 consisting of   
prepared ox-hides1       hanging doubly 
over their shoulders4 ,the men1 during  
the       engagement1 were nearly naked1
 having on their heads a round          
cockade of black ostrich feathers4      
,their ornaments were large       copper
 rings1 sometimes eight in number1 worn 
round their necks1       with numerous  
arm1 leg1 and ear rings of the same     

material4 ,their       weapons were     
war-axes of various shapes1 and clubs4  
,into many of       their knob-sticks   
were inserted pieces of iron resembling 
a       sickle1 but more curved1        
sometimes to a circle1 and sharp on the 
outside4 ,they appeared more rude and   
barbarous than the tribes       around  
us1 the natural consequences of the     
warlike life they had       led4 ,they  
were suffering dreadfully from want2    
even in the heat       of battle1 the   
poorest class seized pieces of meat and 
devoured       them raw4     ,,chapter  
,,xxiii4  ,the new ,city of             
,mexico4--,the ,discoveries of          
,gold4--,ruins at ,mexico4--,the ,monks1
 and what ,cortez gained by his         
,piety4--,the ,city of ,mexico again    
rebuilt4--,the ,city under              
,ravillagigedo4--,the ,national         
,palace4--,the ,cathedral4--,a whole    
,museum turned ,saints4--,all kneel     
together4--,the ,san ,carlos ,academy of
 ,arts4--,reign of ,carlos ,,iii--,the  

,mineria4   ,the city of ,mexico1 as    
rebuilt by ,cortez1 was but an humble   
affair4 ,the small amount of plunder    
realized from the city destroyed2 the   
necessity for large remittances to      
secure peace at the ,spanish court2 the 
general poverty and destitution of the  
,indians inhabiting the surrounding     
villages1 and the narrow limits of the  
,aztec empire1 were great impediments in
 the way of erecting a magnificent city4
 ,on a small scale1 he resembled ,santa 
,anna in the activity with which he     
could organize an army after defeat1 or 
resuscitate affairs when apparently     
irretrievable4 ,he knew how to improve  
the most slender means to the           
accomplishment of ulterior purposes4    
,perseverance is not one of the leading 
characteristics of the ,spanish race1   
yet it is surprising to see how much    
they will often accomplish with what    
would appear to us totally inadequate   
means4 ,such was eminently the talent of
 ,cortez4 ,surrounded by disappointed   

men1 who had been lured to the country  
by magnificent pictures of its          
resources1 he still went on extending   
his conquests among the surrounding     
tribes4  ,fortunately1 the most precious
 of all metals is obtained by the most  
simple process1 and the gold-washings of
 the ,mescala and other parts of the    
south1 which the ,indians had but       
partially wrought1 received more        
attention as soon as they learned how   
readily the precious metal could be     
exchanged for the gewgaws of the        
,europeans4 ,gold dust was greedily     
exchanged for its weight in bright      
silver coins1 and an ounce of gold was  
not unfrequently given for a            
bright-colored handkerchief4 ,in a few  
months the means for the organization of
 a community were obtained from the     
gold-diggings4 ,nothing tends so much to
 elevate the lowly as the discovery of  
gold-washings1 in which individual      
effort1 and not machinery1 is the ruling
 power1 and the producer of wealth4 ,but

 even a gold country has its evils2 for 
nowhere have ,i ever seen so many       
disappointed men as at the very place   
where an abundance of gold could be had 
for simply washing it out of the mud2   
and nowhere have ,i seen so large a     
proportion of unemployed men as on the  
spot where the wages of labor were      
fabulously high4 ,still1 with all these 
drawbacks1 the city of ,cortez rapidly  
progressed under the stimulus of gold   
discoveries1 until he found the wildest 
of his dreams falling short of the      
reality4   ,,the ,,monks ,,in ,,mexico4 
,the new city did not occupy the exact  
position of its ,indian predecessor1 but
 was clustered around the still         
remaining navigable canals1 upon the    
southern border1 while the main portion 
of the old city1 which lay toward the   
northern limits of the island--where to 
this day such an abundant supply of     
earthen gods is to be found by          
digging--was left a mass of ruins4      
,these were not1 by any means1 the ruins

 of fallen stone walls1 or capitals1 or 
columns1 but shapeless masses of earth1 
which proclaim most unmistakably the    
kind of magnificence which distinguished
 the ancient capital of the ,aztec      
empire4  ,the monks1 who scented gold as
 buzzards scent carrion1 began early to 
discover the growing wealth of this new 
city1 and soon a party of a dozen       
,franciscans1 in sackcloth with downcast
 visages1 approached the city4 ,they    
came1 not as religious teachers1 but as 
spiritual scavengers1 who had           
consecrated their lives for gold to     
clean out the road to heaven for the    
vilest sinners4 ,cortez1 who had been   
the greatest sinner1 was now the        
greatest penitent4 ,the whole city was  
moved at the coming of these holy men1  
who carried the cross before them1 but  
forgot not the cards and the dice in    
their pockets--who daily1 in the mass1  
consecrated spiritual bread for         
famishing souls1 and at night spent the 
wages of their piety at the             

gambling-table4 ,to the surprise of his 
fellow-profligates1 and to the          
astonishment of the ,indians1 ,cortez1  
walking bare-footed1 led the procession 
that escorted the monks from near the   
spot where his brigantines had sailed   
among the corn-fields of ,iztapalapan to
 the little chapel he had partly        
finished1 and which now stands in the   
yard of the ,franciscans4#ej ,he was so 
zealous in the performance of his       
devotions and his penances that he won  
the affections of the holy fathers to   
such a degree that he ever found        
faithful supporters in the powerful     
order of ,saint ,francis in all his     
troubles at the ,spanish court4 ,the    
question of his sincerity mattered      
little to them4 ,it was the benefit of  
his public example which they1 above all
 things1 desired in their search after  
golden treasures4 ,to get gold and to   
gratify their vices was their pious     
calling4 ,though they boast of having   
baptized some #fjjj ,indians1 this      

argues nothing1 except as it tends to   
show the numbers of the ,indian         
population of the valley2 for1 as a     
badge of their subjugation1 the ,indians
 received ,christian baptism2 and truly 
it has been said of them1 ,they feared  
the ,lord1 but served their graven      
images4  ,we have now a sadder tale to  
tell2 one that philanthropists have     
grieved over so often4 ,gold-washings   
are soon exhausted1 but they frequently 
lead to the discovery of silver mines1  
which become so profitable as to drive  
away the very memory of the             
gold-washings4 ,thus the fact that      
gold-washings ever existed in ,mexico1  
or even in ,brazil1 is almost forgotten1
 and the places where those washings    
were rests in vague tradition4  ,but    
while gold is procured by the most      
simple process1 to extract silver       
requires science1 and an immense        
expenditure of labor and machinery1 in  
delving to the very bowels of the earth1
 and in separating the slight percentage

 of pure silver from the mass of ore4   
,in this exhausting labor1 which is     
often assigned to convicts1 ,indians    
were employed until they gave up the    
ghost4 ,the conquerors had appropriated 
to themselves the best-looking of the   
,indian females1 while their            
husbands--for ,indians marry very early 
in life--were consigned to the mines as 
laborers and carriers in the bowels of  
the mountain4 ,from this promiscuous    
intercourse1 so early introduced1 has   
arisen the present mixed-blood          
population of ,mexico4 ,the offspring of
 sin1 they are a nation of sinners4 ,the
 pure ,indians are the descendants      
chiefly of the unenslaved tribes1 like  
the ,tlascalans and ,tezcucans1 who     
carried on the subsequent wars of       
,cortez1 and the whites are mostly      
descendants of later immigrations4  ,in 
a former chapter we have seen that the  
evils which ,california suffered in the 
first years of its existence afflicted  
,mexico down to the time of the great   

inundation of #afbi2 and from the pen of
 an eye-witness we have given a picture 
of the state of society at that time4   
,but during the five years that the     
water rested on the city1 its           
superabundant wealth disappeared2 many  
of the nobility and gentry withdrew to  
,puebla1 carrying with them their       
treasures and their vices1 while        
multitudes of the poorer classes        
perished4 ,so that when the ,virgin of  
,guadalupe1 in her great mercy to an    
afflicted people1 caused the earth to   
open and swallow up the great excess of 
waters1 they had become a sobered and a 
more moral population4 ,it is from this 
abating of the waters in the year #afcd 
that we have to date the origin of the  
present city of ,mexico2 for the        
foundations of all the buildings except 
those about the ,cathedral were so much 
softened by five years of soaking that  
they could not be relied on2 and a new  
city grew up upon new foundations4 ,this
 is the ,mexico of the present day2 a   

city more elegant than substantial1 and 
dependent more upon the plaster and     
colored washings of its walls than solid
 masonry for its apparent durability4   
,,the ,,viceroy ,,ravillagigedo4  ,it   
was the great ,vice-king ,ravillagigedo1
 toward the close of the last century   
7#aghi71 who gave the finishing strokes 
to the city1 and established its        
reputation as the finest city on this   
continent while the vice-kingdom        
continued4 ,it was then one of the      
best-lighted cities to be found1 while  
in its paving he expended the large sum 
of #cdg1gae4ea ,we have seen1 in our own
 day and in our own large cities1 the   
popular applause which follows the rigid
 enforcement of wholesome ordinances2   
and it may be well supposed that in a   
city like ,mexico1 such an unusual      
proceeding would elevate the fearless   
magistrate in popular estimation1 and   
make him the subject of all kind of     
apocryphal anecdotes4  ,the best of the 
anecdotes illustrating his sternness in 

enforcing city ordinances is the        
following3 ,a police officer once       
reported to him the case of the         
occupants of a house who had neglected  
sweeping in front of their premises4 ,he
 informed him that the family had       
consisted of a widowed mother and two   
daughters1 but that the mother had died 
during the previous night1 and that1    
instead of sweeping the street as usual1
 the daughters sat at the door weeping1 
and soliciting money of passers-by to   
bury the dead body4 ,return1 said the   
viceroy sternly to the officer1 and     
stand at the door until there are twelve
 shillings 7a dollar and a half7 in the 
plate1 and then take it1 and bring it   
and the offenders to me4 ,the officer   
did as directed4 ,deliver the money to  
the municipal treasurer1 in payment of  
the fine for violating the city         
ordinance1 said the vice-king to the    
officer1 and then return to your duty4  
,he then turned to the orphans3 ,i hear 
that your mother is dead1 and that you  

wish to obtain the means of burying her4
 ,here is an order on your parish       
priest1 who will bury your mother1 and  
here is a trifle for yourselves1 he     
said1 handing to each of them a gold    
ounce4 ,they went their way1 blessing   
the man that had succored them in their 
necessity4 ,this early example of the   
rigid enforcement of city ordinances has
 never been forgotten in ,mexico1 where1
 considering its limited means1 for its 
revenue#eb does not exceed #djj1jjj1    
including its landed rents1 its         
government is well sustained1 and its   
laws better enforced than in many of our
 own cities4 ,its police consists of a  
military patrol1#ec who1 oddly enough1  
perform the duties of lamplighters4     
,,the ,,national ,,palace4  ,the        
,national ,palace is an immense         
structure1 which occupies the eastern   
front of the ,grand ,plaza1 and is      
sometimes foolishly called the ,halls of
 the ,montezumas4 ,it contains within   
itself all the offices of government1   

besides the barracks of the ,president's
 guard4 ,besides being the city         
residence of the ,president himself1 it 
contains the two halls that were        
formerly occupied by the two legislative
 bodies1 the ,senate and the ,chamber of
 ,deputies1 while such a burlesque of   
our free institutions existed in        
,mexico4 ,in this palace also was the   
,national ,mint1 so long as any body    
would trust the nation with his silver  
bars to coin2 but1 now that the mint is 
farmed out1 it is removed to a private  
establishment4 ,in this building are all
 the archives of the vice-kingdom and   
the republic1 and he who would study the
 history of the past must diligently    
labor here4  ,the ,cathedral is upon the
 northern side of the ,grand ,plaza1 and
 is said to occupy the site of the great
 teocalli1 and to have a rocky          
foundation4 ,whether this last assertion
 is really true1 ,i have no means of    
verifying1 but there must be something  
unusual about its foundations1 as its   

towers are the only ones that ,i know of
 in the city that do not lean a little4 
,ninety years was this vast edifice1 or1
 rather1 pile of edifices1 in building1 
and the amount of treasure expended in  
its construction seems to a stranger to 
be fabulous4 ,the best of its many fine 
views1 or1 rather1 the one ,i admire the
 most1 is the one from the entrance to  
the ,national ,palace1 though the one   
most commonly given is that from the    
front of the ,municipality building1    
which occupies the entire south front of
 the ,plaza4   ,,images ,,in ,,the      
,,cathedral4  ,the interior of the      
,cathedral is certainly imposing1 but ,i
 had so early in life attached the idea 
of the ,gothic architecture to every    
thing magnificent in the way of         
churches1 that this ,moro-,spanish style
 fails to produce an effect commensurate
 with the merits of the building4       
,again1 images are not associated with  
my early ideas of divine worship2 and   
when1 passing from side altar to side   

altar1 ,i feel that ,i am only looking  
at wax figures1 they produce no         
solemnity in me4 ,and when ,i afterward 
learned1 or thought ,i learned1 that the
 showman of the strolling museum got his
 wax figures at the same shop1 or from  
the same moulds in which were cast the  
images of the saints1 they call up the  
idea of ,punch and ,judy4  ,before these
 images ,i have seen hundreds of        
worshipers prostrate1 repeating their   
prayers with the most profound          
reverence1 while the sight of the image 
filled me with boyish glee that ,i could
 hardly suppress4 ,the identical image  
that was labeled ,bluebeard in the      
museum is now ,saint ,peter4 ,the       
,disconsolate ,widow is now the ,weeping
 ,virgin4 ,charlotte ,temple1 and the   
baby that never knew its father1 is now 
,mary and the infant ,christ4 ,macbeth1 
looking as though he had the toothache1 
is ,saint ,francis4 ,othello is here a  
saint2 and the sleeping ,desdemona is   
now the sleeping ,virgin4 ,the monster  

that poisoned six husbands1 and sits    
meditating the death of a seventh1 is   
now dressed in the latest ,paris finery1
 and is a saint4 ,the old miser1 who    
laid up such hoards while he starved    
himself to death1 is here placed among  
saints2 the clothes are different1 but  
there is the same forbidding visage4    
,here1 too1 are the ,queen of ,sheba1   
the ,babes in the ,wood1 the ,belle of  
the ,west1 the ,terrible ,brigand1 and  
,sir ,william ,wallace--all transformed 
into images of saints1 before whom the  
people bow down with the most profound  
reverence1 and to whose intercession    
they commit the salvation of their      
souls4  ,i do not know whether the      
showman or the priests are to blame for 
my irreverence1 or whether it is the    
fault of the system itself4 ,the        
argument in favor of the adoration of   
images is that they make impressions on 
the senses which aid devotion2 but1 if  
the impressions made on my senses are to
 be considered1 the whole tendency is to

 debase the immortal ,maker of heaven   
and earth below the level of humanity1  
and to change the image of the          
incorruptible ,god into an image made   
like to corruptible man4 ,there was     
abundant proof of this in the tabernacle
 of our ,lady of ,remedies above the    
great altar of the ,cathedral4 ,there   
sits enthroned this cast-off bauble of  
some nursery1 emblazoned with jewels    
enough to supply the means to educate   
the whole population of ,mexico4 ,to    
this piece of dilapidated wood and      
plaster of ,paris are conceded          
attributes of ,god ,almighty3 to grant  
rain in times of drought2 health in     
times of pestilence2 a safe delivery to 
women in peril of childbirth2 and before
 it1 in times of public calamity1 the   
highest dignitaries walk in solemn      
procession4  ,nothing disgusts an       
,anglo-,saxon more than to witness the  
mental degradation of the descendants of
 the ,castilians1 the slaves of         
superstition1 craft1 and imposture4     

,from generation to generation they have
 lived in constant fear of the secret   
agents of the ,inquisition1 and of the  
evil spirits that are ever plotting     
against the peace of good ,christians4  
,the permanency of the laws of ,nature1 
the very foundation of all self-reliance
 and courage1 is believed to be at the  
caprice of every one of a legion of     
saints1 each of whom has been canonized 
on proof of working a miracle4 ,truth1  
and honesty1 and chastity are           
subordinate virtues1 and only a slavish 
devotion to his conscience-keeper can   
sustain a believer in the hour of       
greatest necessity4  ,there are         
important truths to be learned in       
,mexico1 and even in this immense pile  
of buildings devoted to superstition4   
,among these is the perfect equality    
that should exist in a place of worship4
 ,here the rich and the poor meet       
together upon a level2 the well-dressed 
lady and the market-woman are here      
kneeling together before the same image4

 ,the distinctions of wealth and rank   
are for the moment forgotten4 ,while ,i 
was looking on and admiring this state  
of things1 ,i saw a market-man on his   
return homeward with an empty hen-coop  
on his back4 ,he walked boldly up1 and  
knelt among the body of worshipers1 told
 his beads1 and then started up and     
trudged on his homeward journey4 ,this  
equality is only for an hour1 and hardly
 so long2 yet it is an hour daily1 and  
must have its effect in this country of 
inequalities in reminding the most      
humble that this inequality is only for 
this world1 and that at the termination 
of life all will stand upon a common    
level4   ,,the ,,san ,,carlos4  ,the    
,san ,carlos1 or ,academy of ,arts1 is  
now in a flourishing condition1 on      
account of the success of the lottery   
that supports it4 ,the number of        
students here gratuitously instructed in
 different branches of art is quite     
large4 ,here1 too1 it is refreshing to  
see equality triumphant2 the child of   

the peon and of the prince sit side by  
side1 and on the days of public         
exhibition1 the crowds that throng its  
halls are admitted gratuitously1 and are
 of as miscellaneous a character as are 
its pupils4 ,the pictures of ,pangre are
 the present great attraction1 and every
 new production of his genius gains him 
additional applause4 ,the works that    
,humboldt so much admired are still     
here1 but since his time there have been
 added several marbles of considerable  
merit4  ,this ,academy of ,san ,carlos  
is one of the many monuments of that    
greatest of the kings of ,spain since   
the ,conquest1 ,don ,carlos ,,iii41     
though not brought into full operation  
until the reign of his imbecile         
successor1 ,carlos ,,iv4 ,all the       
monuments of which ,mexico can boast at 
this day are traceable to the reign of  
the only enlightened ,spanish prince of 
whom ,spain can boast in a period of    
#cjj years4 ,nearly a hundred years have
 elapsed since the foundation of this   

academy1 and it has not yet produced a  
man of the first class either in        
painting or sculpture4  ,the ,college of
 ,mines1 the finest building in this    
city1 is another exhibition of the      
liberal spirit which governed in the    
reign of ,don ,carlos4 ,under this      
prince a new code of mining laws had    
been digested1 strikingly resembling the
 present miner's rules in ,california4  
,their immediate effect was almost to   
double the production of silver1 while  
the ,mineria was both a school to impart
 scientific knowledge in relation to    
mining1 and a bank to advance money to  
develop new mineral enterprises4 ,its   
support now rests upon the tax it is    
authorized to levy of one shilling upon 
every mark 7#h7 of silver produced4     
#ej ,as it is an unimportant question   
whether ,cortez first built       a     
chapel for the ,franciscans back of the 
,cathedral1 or the one in       the yard
 of the ,franciscans1 ,i here repeat the
 popular tradition4        #ea          

,,humboldt1 ,essai ,politique4          
#eb ,as my readers may be a little      
curious to know how the city            
government is sustained1 ,i translate   
the statement of city       revenue of  
#ahea4        ,there were in that year  
#cgi licensed pulque-shops1             
yielding a revenue of                   
#fe1big       #ech retail grocer shops  
in which liquor is         sold by the  
gill                                    
#be1fji       #h breweries pay a city   
tax of                                  
#a1fig       #acb cafes1 fondas1 and    
eating-houses pay                       
#d1dah       ,tax on grain and bread    
consumed in the city                    
#ec1gfb       ,public diversions1 #cajc2
 permitted plays         7not gambling71
 #cbba                                  
#f1cbd       ,tax on canals1 #fgih2 tax 
on coaches1 #bj1aeg2         markets1   
#ef1acj                                 
#hc1jhe       ,donation of the proceeds 
of a bull-fight                    #hcj 

,gifts1 in bread and meat1 to the       
prisons                  #d1efa       ,a
 tax of one dollar on the slaughtering  
of         #ba1ihd beef-cattle          
#ba1ihd       #af1djd calves were       
slaughtered1 paying six                 
shillings tax                           
#ab1cjc       #ade1jdj sheep1 at one    
shilling and sixpence                   
#bg1aid       #icid pigs paid five      
shillings tax1 or                       
#e1hgj       #db1gcd swine1 full grown1 
paid six shillings             #cb1jee  
#ggej goats and kids1 at one shilling   
and sixpence         #a1dec       ,tax  
on property entering the city gates     
#a1hgh       ,licenses to slaughter to  
individuals                        #acf 
,the water rents of #bj1jjj were        
consumed in repairs4       ,the tax on  
fish yielded                            
#cij       ,the balance of the revenue  
consists of certain city properties4    
,expenditures4        ,the heaviest     
items are for the public prisons        

#fi1hfc       ,for the hospitals of the 
insane                          #dh1jjj 
,lancasterian schools                   
#c1fjj       ,lights and city patrol    
#eb1dbb       ,exhibition of flowers and
 fruits in ,november last         #a1hca
       ,salaries of school-teachers1 and
 rent of houses         for schools     
#d1hab       ,religious worship in      
,hospital of ,san ,hippolito1           
and for vaccine matter                  
#b1bhb       ,cleaning the streets by   
night and by day                 #ba1cgh
       ,salaries                        
#ca1dgb       ,dinners and festivals    
#aea        ,the city has a debt of     
#fag1igh1 and has1 as a set-off1 a      
claim against the supreme government for
 #a1gjj1jjj of its       funds seized   
from time to time1 and for keeping      
prisoners4        #ec ,the arrests in   
the year #ahea were #bab men and #ahb   
women for       infractions of police   
regulations2 #abef men and #aidd women  
for       excessive drinking2 #chd men  

and #abj women for robbery2 #ahj men    
and #hd women on suspicion of robbery2  
#abj men and #be women for       picking
 pockets2 #ae men and #c women for      
murder2 #gbh men and #bdf       women   
for affrays and wounds2 #bji men and #he
 women for carrying       forbidden     
weapons2 #cf men who had escaped from   
prison2 #ci men and       #ag women for 
false pretenses2 #ced men and #djc women
 for       incontinence and adultery2   
#caa men and #cah women for the         
violation of public decency2 #fd        
delinquent youth for the house of       
correction--making a total of arrests   
for the year of #ciah men       and     
#cdcj women2 besides1 they have         
protected #cae persons                  
apprehensive of assaults from           
evil-doers4 ,and they have freed        
the city from the plague of #fjdh dogs6 
,just as many dogs       arrested as    
human beings4 ,these statistics furnish 
an inadequate       idea of the number  
of knife-fights that are of so common   

occurrence among the peons about the    
pulque-shops1 in which       women and  
men show an equal skill at stabbing in  
the back4     ,,chapter ,,xxiv4  ,the   
,national ,museum4--,marianna and       
,cortez4--,the small ,value of this     
,collection4--,the ,botanic             
,garden4--,the ,market of ,santa        
,anna4--,the ,acordada ,prison4--,the   
unfortunate ,prisoner4--,the ,causes of 
that ,night of ,terror4--,the ,sacking  
of the ,city4--,the ,parian4--,the      
,causes of the ,ruin of the             
,parian4--,change in the ,standard of   
,color4--,the ,ashes of ,cortez4        
,,museum4--,,botanic                    
,,garden4--,,market4  ,the ,national    
,museum has its weekly exhibitions1 and 
attracts as great a crowd of the common 
people as does the ,academy of ,arts4   
,here as perfect equality reigns as in  
the ,san ,carlos or in the ,cathedral4  
,the first object of interest is the    
large collection of stone idols which   
have been dug up from time to time in   

and about the ,grand ,plaza4 ,there are 
dog-faced idols1 and apish gods1 and    
unearthly things1 besides the           
sacrificial stone1 and a rude attempt to
 represent a goddess4 ,whether or no    
this was a sort of ,aztec ,lady of      
,remedies ,i did not learn4 ,the ,aztecs
 might easily have produced these works 
without exhibiting much civilization2   
but ,i have heard it surmised that they 
must have been among the plunder of more
 civilized tribes4  ,on the two opposite
 sides of the first hall we entered1 ,i 
saw spread out the pictorial chronology 
of two dynasties that had passed        
away--the vice-regal line of potentates 
standing over against the royal line of 
,aztec emperors4 ,the portraits of the  
vice-kings1 from ,cortez down to the    
last of his successors1 stretch entirely
 across one side of the hall1 and about 
the same number of ,indian caciques are 
daubed upon a piece of papyrus that is  
fastened upon the opposite wall4 ,it    
requires the greatest possible stretch  

of liberality for one accustomed to     
,indian efforts of this kind to dignify 
such intolerable daubs with the name of 
paintings4 ,and yet this is the         
picture-writing of the ,aztecs1 with    
which the world has been so edified for 
centuries4 ,if there is or ever was an  
,iroquois ,indian that should undertake 
to stain so miserably1 ,i verily believe
 he would be expelled from his tribe4   
,to make it manifest that this was      
intended for a chronological record of  
the imperial line1 black lines were     
daubed from one of these effigies to    
another4 ,from a printed label in       
,spanish affixed to this wonderful      
relic1 ,i learned that it was intended  
to represent the wanderings of the      
,aztecs from ,california4  ,it is usual 
for ,north ,american ,indians to store  
up traditions of the extensive          
wanderings of their ancestors1 and if   
one is asked to represent the tradition 
on bark1 he would produce very much such
 an affair as this1 though with a       

somewhat greater resemblance to the     
human form4 ,another picture represents 
,marianna1 the mistress of ,cortez1 with
 her rosary1 and ,cortez with his       
fingers in much such a position as boys 
place them in when they wish to convey  
the idea that they have perpetrated a   
joke--a very satisfactory method of     
representing the piety of ,cortez4      
,close by the pious couple is the       
representation of a scene which they    
seem to have come out to witness4 ,a    
bloodhound is represented tearing an    
,indian to pieces1 while a ,spaniard is 
holding on to the end of the dog's      
chain4  ,the banner under which ,cortez 
fought1 or rather one of them--for he   
had two--is here preserved in a gilt    
frame4 ,it represents the ,virgin ,mary 
portrayed on crimson silk4 ,in this hall
 is also a miniature representation of a
 silver mine1 with the workmen at their 
several branches of labor4 ,the remains 
of the vice-regal throne are here piled 
up in a corner4  ,in the next room there

 are some paintings of no very great    
value1 which should have been kept in   
the ,academy2 also a miniature fortress 
and a small mineral collection1 and any 
quantity of specimens of ,indian idols1 
so misshapen as to be unfit for use as  
images of the ,virgin and of the saints4
  ,as a ,vice-royal and ,national       
,museum1 the whole affair is beneath    
contempt4 ,if the few articles in it    
that are valuable were divided between  
the ,mineria and the ,san ,carlos1 and  
the rest thrown away1 it would be an    
advantage to all concerned4 ,the ,indian
 relics in this museum are not only much
 inferior to the specimens of the art of
 the savage islanders of the ,south     
,seas1 but immensely inferior to many   
private collections of ,indian          
curiosities that ,i have seen1 and they 
go far to demonstrate the entire absence
 of civilized arts among the aboriginal 
inhabitants of ,mexico4  ,in an interior
 court of the museum is the ,botanic    
,garden4 ,this1 like the ,national      

,museum1 is a paltry affair4 ,with the  
exception of the ,manolita1 or tree that
 bears a flower resembling the human    
hand1 of which there are but two in the 
,republic1 there is nothing deserving of
 notice in this garden4 ,in the large   
interior court of ,san ,francisco a     
,frenchman has1 as a private            
speculation1 opened a garden and made a 
collection of the national plants of    
,mexico that is well worth a visit4 ,in 
this private garden is one of the finest
 and rarest collections of the cactus   
family that ,i have ever seen1 either in
 ,mexico or elsewhere4  ,the market of  
,santa ,anna is the central market of   
the city4 ,it adjoins the palace1 and is
 close to the canal4 ,the products of   
the chinampas are here displayed to the 
best advantage4 ,as ,mexico is within   
easy marketing distance of the hot      
country1 we have here daily presented   
the fresh productions of two zones4     
,this is one of the places where the    
appetite of a stranger can not only be  

gratified with the greatest variety of  
delicacies ever collected in one spot1  
but the excellency and abundance of the 
articles presented are perplexing to the
 person who would venture upon the bold 
experiment of tasting every new article 
offered to him4 ,as a vegetable and     
flower market1 it has no equal4   ,,the 
,,acordada4  ,the ,acordada ,prison is  
the principal state as well as city     
prison4 ,here are confined men charged  
with every offense1 from rioting to     
murder4 ,oftentimes these extremes are  
found together in the interior court of 
the prison1 where the felon1 with his   
hands steeped in innocent blood1 is     
entertaining a crowd of novices in crime
 with the details of his adventures1 and
 of his many hair-breadth escapes from  
the cruel officers of the law4 ,he is as
 eloquent in giving lessons to novices  
as his compeers in our own prisons1 and 
he carefully instructs his hopeful      
pupils in the best ways of avenging     
their wrongs upon society4 ,some in the 

prison are merry1 and enjoy a dance1    
while others are indulging in obscene   
jests and ribaldry4 ,still1 there are   
those that find means to labor and to   
work at repairing shoes or clothes in   
the midst of this babel of sin and      
tumult4  ,the ,acordada gave its name to
 that night insurrection to which ,i    
have so often referred4 ,two regiments  
of artillery1 quartered in the palace of
 the ,inquisition1 pronounced against   
the legality of the election of ,pedraza
 to the presidency4 ,one night they took
 possession of the ,acordada1 where they
 were joined by the whole body of       
desperadoes there confined4 ,among the  
persons at that time detained in this   
prison1 and on that night wantonly      
killed1 was an ,englishman1 who had been
 kept in prison for several years1      
charged with the singular offense of    
having married the daughter of an       
ex-marquis4 ,there had been romance in  
his courtship and romance in his        
marriage1 but it had not met with the   

approbation of the father1 who          
unfortunately had influence enough to   
get the newly-married man into prison1  
and to keep him there4 ,at last the     
father had relented1 and on the next day
 the poor ,englishman was to have been  
set at liberty4 ,long and trying had    
been the sufferings of the unfortunate  
man1 doomed to pass the best years of   
his life among robbers and assassins4   
,though every thing that kindness could 
do to lighten his sufferings had been   
done lay his own countrymen1 yet the    
weary years of imprisonment1 superadded 
to the sudden blasting of his hopes1 had
 brought premature old age upon him     
while yet in the prime of life4 ,but now
 all was forgotten in anticipation of a 
to-morrow that he was never to see4     
,when the attack was made upon the      
prison1 he went to the door of his cell 
to learn the cause of so unusual a      
disturbance1 and was instantly          
killed--the first victim of the night of
 the ,acordada4  ,on that fearful night 

the ,acordada was unusually full of     
desperadoes1 whom the civil disorders   
and stagnation of business had driven to
 crime4 ,a battle in the night in the   
streets of a large city is a fearful    
thing1 at least when cannon are the     
chief weapons used2 but when there is   
added to this cause of alarm that the   
news had spread through the city that   
all the murderers and housebreakers in  
the prison had been let loose1 with arms
 in their hands1 to murder and to ravage
 the city1 an idea may be formed of the 
terror of a population who were cowards 
by instinct4 ,the contempt with which   
they had regarded the lower orders was  
to be fearfully retaliated4 ,hate1      
mingled with avarice1 and inflamed by   
pulque and bad liquor1 was to do its    
work1 and that1 too1 without pity4 ,men1
 untamed by kindness of those above     
them1 were now the masters of the lives 
and property of all1 and there was no   
remedy4 ,fear had held the common people
 in a degraded position1 but they feared

 no longer4 ,those who had lorded it    
over the poor instead of laboring to    
elevate their condition1 were now to    
suffer the consequences of that neglect4
  ,it is a thankless task to labor for  
the elevation of the degraded1 and      
oftentimes we are stung with the        
ingratitude of those whom we have       
desired to aid4 ,but ,god1 who has      
enjoined this unpleasant duty upon us1  
has borne our daily ingratitude without 
casting us off1 and we but imitate him  
when we continue to minister to the     
ungrateful1 and the unthankful1 and even
 the unmerciful4 ,the people of ,mexico 
had shown more liberality1 and given    
more than we4 ,but they had not given it
 to educate and to elevate the condition
 of the poor1 but to feed pampered      
priests1 who walked in long robes1 and  
who loved salutations in the markets1   
and to women like them1 who had placed  
themselves in an unnatural relation to  
the world4 ,god requires of all men not 
only contributions of money1 for that is

 but half charity1 but personal services
 in discharge of the duties of good     
citizens1 and in relieving the          
afflicted2 and he that disregards such  
duties may suffer as the ,mexicans did  
in the night of the ,acordada           
insurrection1 which turned young hairs  
gray1 and destroyed forever the         
happiness of unnumbered families4  ,when
 the common people1 brutalized by       
oppression1 found themselves masters of 
the city1 and their oppressors          
powerless1 then burst forth the pent-up 
hatred of ten generations4 ,they call us
 leperos and dogs1 said some of them2   
let us play the part of dogs--hungry    
dogs1 among these spotted sheep4 ,the   
palaces of the great were no protection 
against these infuriated peons1 and     
women who boasted of titles of nobility 
were not safe4 ,the wealth that         
generations of unjust monopolists had   
accumulated was scattered to the winds4 
,leperos now rioted on carpets from     
,brussels and on cushions of ,oriental  

stuffs1 and quaffed the choice wines of 
,madeira and ,champagne4 ,in the fury of
 their intoxication they lost all       
restraint1 and indulged in every excess 
and enormity4 ,robbery and murder were  
the order of the day4 ,in carrying away 
the plunder1 disputes arose1 and then   
they murdered each other as readily as  
they had murdered those who claimed the 
title of citizens4 ,fear was the only   
authority they had learned to respect1  
and they knew no other government than  
the hated police2 but now1 when the     
police were powerless1 they could amuse 
themselves according to the instincts of
 their brutish natures4 ,they had never 
been taught self-control1 and animal    
indulgence was the utmost of their      
ambition1 and they found amusement in   
violating all laws1 human and divine4   
,the murders1 the ravishings1 the wanton
 destruction of the richest household   
stuffs1 and luxuries1 and works of art  
in that night1 can not all be written1  
nor can they ever be effaced from the   

memory ,of those who witnessed them4    
,,the ,,parian4  ,stretching across the 
,grand ,plaza1 opposite the ,cathedral  
and in front of the buildings of the    
,municipality1 once stood the noted mart
 of commerce called the ,parian1 an     
ill-looking structure1 in which was     
accumulated the mass of foreign         
merchandise4 ,in this same pile of      
buildings had been concocted the        
conspiracy which1 in the year #ahjh1 had
 caused the seizure of the ,vice-king1  
,iturrigaray1 and his imprisonment in   
the ,inquisition4 ,the complaint against
 the ,vice-king was that he was about to
 recognize the political equality of the
 native-born population with the        
emigrants from ,spain4 ,for this        
offense1 his reputation and that of his 
kindred was to be forever blackened by a
 suspicion of heresy4  ,in the night of 
the ,acordada insurrection1 the ,spanish
 shop-keepers of the ,parian found      
themselves utterly defenseless4 ,they   
could no longer invoke the aid of the   

,inquisition in oppressing and trampling
 on the people1 whom their wantonness1  
and the wantonness of others like them1 
had brutalized4 ,the neglect and        
oppression which had reduced a laboring 
man to a lepero had not made him        
insensible to the unequal laws which    
elevated above him a race of beings     
destitute of that manly courage which   
oftentimes gives plausibility to        
oppression4 ,now the lepero took delight
 in visiting upon the present occupants 
of this building a fearful punishment   
for the crime committed there twenty    
years before1 and among the guilty crowd
 there was to be found many an innocent 
sufferer4  ,the isolated crowds that had
 been traversing the streets1 and       
indulging their wantonness on a small   
scale1 at length1 as the night wore     
away1 began to concentrate around the   
,parian1 and quickly such devastation of
 property was made as might be expected 
where the rich and poor had no common   
interest in its preservation1 and where 

criminal and poor man were almost       
convertible terms4 ,the plunderers had  
little idea of the value or uses of the 
property they were scattering to the    
winds2 and while they wasted millions   
worth of property1 they wantonly shed   
the blood of the proprietors in the     
midst of their merchandise4 ,nor did the
 evil end when daylight appeared2 for   
among the consequences of this night    
insurrection was the transfer of all    
authority to new hands4 ,those who the  
day before had been stigmatized with the
 impurity of their blood1 were now the  
governing power1 who1 under the forms of
 law1 were to carry into effect the     
behest of the successful insurgents4    
,neither the sight of the ruins of the  
night before1 nor bales of merchandise  
strewed about among corpses and         
spattered with blood1 could move the new
 masters of the city to pity the fallen 
condition of a class of men who had     
proved themselves too cowardly to defend
 their own usurpations1 and too         

tyrannical to instill into the lately   
proscribed races any ideas of           
compassion4   ,,the ,,overturn4  ,for   
three hundred years pure white blood and
 ,spanish birth was an indispensable    
qualification for promotion in the      
vice-kingdom1 and the slightest tincture
 of colored blood was an indelible      
disgrace4 ,but one night of tumult and  
rapine changed the popular standard of  
color4 ,and he who had boasted the day  
before of his pure white blood and      
,spanish origin1 now sought to hide     
himself from the officers of the law1   
who visited with the penalty of         
banishment the crime of having been born
 in ,spain4 ,men now1 for the first     
time1 boasted of their ,indian origin1  
and of the slight infusion they were    
able to discover of colored blood in    
their veins2 while a man of ,indian     
descent1 and who spoke a provincial     
dialect1 was declared elected ,president
 of the ,republic of ,mexico3 so        
uncertain are all divisions of rank     

formed on the arbitrary distinction of  
color4  ,during the night strange       
murmurings were heard against the       
accursed enslaver of their race4 ,the   
descendants of ,cortez were fearful for 
the safety of his ashes1 which had lain 
quietly in the convent of ,san          
,francisco#ed so long as the            
,inquisition possessed the power of     
compelling men to reverence his memory  
as the champion of the ,cross1 the      
favorite of the ,virgin ,mary1 the hero 
of a holy war against the infidels4 ,but
 now that this accursed institution1 and
 the infamous gang connected with its   
management1 had become powerless1 the   
national feeling began to manifest      
itself so openly that the remains were  
removed secretly and by night to the    
sanctuary of the most sacred shrine of  
,mexico1 that of ,santa ,teresa1 where  
they remained until a safe opportunity  
presented itself for shipping them off  
to the ,duke of ,montebello1 a ,sicilian
 nobleman1 who inherits the titles and  

also the vast estates of ,cortez in the 
valleys of the ,cuarnavaca and ,oajaca1 
upon which none of the revolutionary    
governments have laid violent hands4    
#ed ,for a more authentic account1 see  
,appendix ,e4     ,,chapter ,,xxv4  ,the
 ,priests gainers by the                
,independence4--,improved ,condition of 
the ,peons4--,mexican ,mechanics4--,the 
,oppression they suffer4--,low state of 
the ,mechanic ,arts4--,the ,story of the
 ,portress4--,charity of the            
,poor4--,the ,whites not superior to    
,meztizos4---,license and ,woman's      
,rights at ,mexico4--,the probable      
,future of ,mexico4--,mormonism         
impending over ,mexico4--,mormonism and 
,mohammedanism4   ,the clergy and the   
other white fomenters of the separation 
from ,spain never contemplated the      
formation of a republic1 or the arming  
of the leperos4 ,they were alarmed at   
the bold reforms of the liberal ,cortes 
of ,spain1 and trembled at the prospect 
of losing their privileges and          

monopolies4 ,they judged that the safest
 course for them was the establishment  
of an empire upon the subversion of the 
vice-kingdom1 which would be so weak a  
power that they could overawe it4 ,the  
priests reasoned correctly1 and have    
augmented their privileges and their    
wealth1 as we shall presently see4 ,the 
,spanish monopolists were ruined by the 
,revolution1 as we have seen in the last
 chapter4 ,but the common people were   
the gainers ultimately by the expulsion 
of the ,spaniards1 though the whole     
country suffered for a time by the      
withdrawal of the capital of the        
,spaniards4 ,the benefit derived by the 
peons from this revolution was the      
political importance which it gave them4
 ,the ,parian and the lepero perished   
together4 ,the latter ceased to exist   
when the last stone of the former       
disappeared4 ,the ,spaniards had been   
banished from the country long before   
the authorities undertook the removal of
 this obnoxious edifice1 and those who  

wished to avoid a like fate sought      
security in acts of benevolence2 so that
 at ,mexico charitable institutions are 
now so well conducted1 that it is one of
 the few ,catholic cities in the world  
that can boast of being free entirely   
from beggars4 ,political power gave to  
the common people an importance in the  
social scale which they had never before
 enjoyed4 ,with the cheapness of        
clothing the unclad multitude have      
disappeared1 and the new generation find
 more employment and better wages than  
their ancestors did1 when all branches  
of industry were clogged with           
monopolies1 and they are1 consequently1 
more industrious and temperate4         
,,mexican ,,mechanics4  ,still1 the     
,mexican peon is immensely below the    
,american laborer1 and still has to be  
watched as a thief1 for the want of a   
little morality intermixed with his     
religious instruction4 ,it is a         
degrading sight to stand at the door of 
one of the large coach manufactories at 

,mexico1 and to witness the manner in   
which they search them1 one by one1 as  
they come out4 ,the natives1 who have   
learned the most difficult parts of     
coach-building from ,english and ,french
 employers1 can not for a moment be     
trusted1 lest they should steal their   
tools or the materials upon which they  
are employed4 ,i saw even the man who   
was placing the gorgeous trimmings on   
the ,nuncio's coach carefully searched1 
lest he should have concealed about his 
person a scrap of the valuable material4
 ,that they are thieves is not to be    
wondered at when their catechism teaches
 them that a theft that does not exceed 
a certain amount is not a grave         
offense4#ee   ,,low ,,state ,,of        
,,mechanic ,,arts4  ,with us1 a mechanic
 is associated with the idea of a person
 occupying a respectable position in    
life2 but at ,mexico he still belongs to
 a degraded class1 as men are there     
esteemed2 he is a peon1 on a footing    
with a common laborer4 ,the highest     

wages are three shillings a day1 while  
at least two days in the week he is kept
 from his usual employment by days of   
obligation1 that is1 festival days on   
which it is unlawful to work4           
,tortillas1 ,indian griddle-cakes1 with 
black beans 7frijoles7 and red peppers  
7chilie71 are his daily food2 and his   
lodgings are a palm-leaf mat upon a     
stone or earthen floor1 while his serapa
 does duty for a blanket at night4 ,the 
greasy friar does not forget him as he  
goes his rounds in search of ,peter's   
pence2 and the priest sets before him   
the horrid consequences of entering     
,purgatory without first discharging the
 debt he still owes for his baptism4 ,he
 and his wife still remain unmarried2   
for how can they ever raise the money to
 pay the priest8 ,and if by chance he   
gets involved in debt1 or for the debt  
of one of his kindred1 one third part of
 his daily labor is embargoed by the    
creditor4  ,when the ,mexican mechanic  
has a small kit of uncouth tools1 he    

works upon his own account1 but at the  
smallest possible profit4 ,when he has  
finished a pair of shoes1 if he be a    
shoemaker1 he or his wife starts out to 
dispose of them to some passer-by in the
 street before a new pair is undertaken4
 ,when the tinman has finished a        
sprinkling pot1 he or his boy walks the 
street till it is sold1 and then perhaps
 a tin bath is made2 and if1 luckily1   
from a chance customer he has obtained  
an extra price1 a fiesta is proclaimed  
to the family connection1 and maybe the 
additional luxury of buying a ticket in 
the lottery of the ,virgin of ,guadalupe
 is indulged in1 and a vow is made that 
if he wins a prize1 one half of the     
profits of the stake shall be deposited 
as a gift at her shrine4 ,in this way a 
week is passed1 and it is terminated    
with the entire exhaustion of the little
 fortune of the poor mechanic4 ,the     
kindred have had a time2 pulque and     
liquor have been passed around freely2  
the women have enjoyed equal rights with

 the men2 they have drunk their full    
share1 and smoked their little cigars4  
,the tin-man1 once more penniless1 with 
an aching head1 but with a light heart1 
returns to his little hammer1 and a     
piece of solder and tin got on the      
pledge of his future earnings4 ,such is 
the condition of native ,mexican        
mechanics1 and of the mechanic arts at  
the capital4  ,illustration3 ,,traveling
 ,,in ,,mexico4  ,the complicated       
machinery by which our shoes are made1  
or the equally complicated machinery by 
which tin is worked up into culinary    
vessels1 never entered into the dreams  
of a ,mexican mechanic4 ,no ,mexican man
 of science ever thought of degrading   
himself so low as to undertake the      
improvement of the mechanic arts2 yet it
 is astonishing to see what ,mexican    
mechanics do accomplish with their      
imperfect means4 ,i have often stopped  
to witness the success of a poor old man
 building a piano1 which was both       
skillfully arranged and well-toned1 and 

yet the tools employed were apparently  
inadequate for such a purpose4 ,in the  
same primitive style were coaches built 
before foreigners came and substituted  
coaches of modern pattern instead of the
 old1 egg-formed coach-bodies of the    
vice-kingdom4  ,it may seem like        
trifling to be dwelling thus upon the   
character of the substratum of ,mexican 
society1 but it is from this very       
substratum that the wealth or poverty of
 a nation is to be traced4 ,the sense of
 the dignity of labor is the foundation 
of ,american prosperity1 while the      
degradation of the mechanics and        
laboring class of ,mexicans is the cause
 of the national imbecility4   ,,the    
,,story ,,of ,,the ,,portress4  ,let us 
look at the common people of ,mexico    
from another point of view4 ,i will     
reproduce in substance the tale of the  
old ,meztizo woman1 who opens and shuts 
the great street door to all well-known 
inmates1 by day and by night1 and to    
such others as can give satisfactory    

answers4 ,she is esteemed a lucky woman 
because she has the use of a small room 
on the ground floor for her services1   
where she and a number of her relatives 
are often hived together4 ,her story is 
very likely not true in every           
particular1 for it can not be denied    
that she1 like all of her class1 does   
not consider falsehood per se as any    
other than a venial sin4 ,how should    
she1 considering the teaching she       
receives8#ef ,but the story is          
nevertheless1 in the main1 a pretty fair
 picture of the life of the humbler     
classes in republican ,mexico4  ,she    
will tell you how her husband basely    
left her with a family of children1 and 
took to another woman1 because they were
 not able to pay the priest to get      
legally married4 ,her eldest son was    
seized and taken to the wars1 where he  
was compelled to stand up to shoot and  
be shot at1 to settle the question which
 of two sets of white men should enjoy  
the right of plundering the people4     

,whether he should hereafter be         
discharged honorably1 or run away1 or be
 killed in battle1 it was the same to   
her1 for the man that recruited the     
soldiers would know that he had once    
been a soldier1 and would be sure to    
seize him first when ordered to furnish 
recruits2 and1 let what will be the     
course of political events1 he is       
certainly lost to her forever4  ,her    
eldest daughter had been a help to her4 
,she ground corn for the tortillas1 and 
could guard the house door while the old
 woman went to the public wash-house to 
wash a few shirts which gentlemen had   
occasionally intrusted to her care4 ,but
 a chance shot in one of the street     
battles had hit her1 and she too was    
gone4 ,her second son had stopped too   
long in front of the pulque-shop after  
his day's work was finished1 and was    
involved in a street affray1 in which   
knives were drawn1 and a man killed4    
,whether he was the guilty one or not1  
it mattered little1 as he was the first 

to fall into the hands of the officers4 
,for a long time he had been kept in the
 chain-gang1 but lately he had been sent
 to the silver mines1 where he would    
probably end his days carrying ore on   
his back like a beast of burden1 a      
thousand feet under ground4  ,she had a 
second daughter1 old enough to carry    
food to her son while he was in prison1 
and to lighten his misery by a daily    
visit while he belonged to the          
chain-gang4 ,but since he has been taken
 from the city1 they two are left alone 
in the world4 ,she has now no money1 or 
she would get her daughter married1 as  
the priest would trust her if she would 
only pay a small part of the fee4 ,still
 she is considered fortunate2 for1      
having the reputation of an honest      
women1 she has got a portress's         
situation1 and little means are thrown  
in her way by which she obtains a       
comfortable living4 ,but her relatives1 
who are poorer than herself1 sympathize 
with her1 and come and eat up her       

tortillas4  ,such is the substance of   
many a tale of misery1 if you will stop 
and listen to the pictures which the    
lowly draw of their condition in any of 
the ,mexican cities4 ,often they are    
fabricated1 but very often they are     
true4 ,the old woman who tells you a    
tale to excite your sympathies has      
perhaps only borrowed a tale of         
misfortune which she has heard her      
neighbor tell4 ,those who reproach these
 poor unfortunates with being beggars1  
thieves1 and liars1 forget that they    
have been made such by oppression4 ,the 
greatest amount of suffering caused by  
the civil wars falls upon the poor2 and 
among the suffering poor1 the women are 
the greatest sufferers4 ,if they are    
more intemperate than the men1 it is    
their misfortunes1 too often1 that have 
driven them to seek a temporary solace  
in pulque4 ,the slight hold they have on
 their husbands is the cause of their   
jealousy1 and if they take part in      
bloody affrays1 it is because they are  

under the influence of intoxication1 and
 not from any inherent inclination to   
cruelty4  ,never did a white skin cover 
a kinder heart than that of the poor    
,meztizo women of ,spanish ,america4    
,their primitive hut by the wayside is  
as much at your service as your own     
castle1 and you are heartily welcome to 
their humble fare4 ,i never was so      
unfortunate as to need their assistance1
 but ,i have often been astonished at   
the ready charity of the poor to those  
poorer than themselves4 ,i once         
encountered an ,irishman who had begged 
his way from the ,gulf coast almost to  
the ,pacific1 and ,i was greatly        
surprised at the cheerfulness with which
 a poor widow woman1 keeper of a venta1 
accepted of a blessing instead of more  
tangible coin for a night's             
entertainment4 ,in delicate health      
always1 and not without a full share of 
experience among strangers1 ,i know full
 well how to appreciate the kind offices
 which a woman only can render4 ,when   

death stared me in the face1 and she    
could do nothing for a perishing heretic
 except to solicit a passing procession 
to chant a misericordia por un infirmo  
,americano1 that kindly office was not  
wanting4 ,when1 with returning health1  
,i ventured out into the street1 leaning
 upon a staff1 a poor ,indian woman1    
forgetting her native shyness1 begged me
 to sit down under the shade of her roof
 while she prepared for me a little     
orange-water1 and when1 a little        
refreshed by her orange-water1 ,i       
tottered on1 ,i shall never forget the  
look of sympathy which she bestowed upon
 an unknown stranger4 ,an ,indian woman 
is always kind1 but the kindest of her  
race is the poor despised ,indian woman 
of ,spanish ,america4  ,it is too common
 to look down coldly1 and not           
unfrequently with contempt1 upon those  
who occupy the humbler walks of life1   
and to speak only of their vices4 ,the  
peon has his vices1 and they are glaring
 enough1 but he is certainly not worse  

than his white neighbor4 ,i had been so 
long in ,california1 and had seen so    
many exhibitions of courage in          
street-fights and personal encounters1  
that ,i had come almost to consider the 
words white man and brave man as        
synonymous4 ,but when ,i found myself in
 ,mexico at the breaking out of a civil 
war1 ,i soon learned that white men are 
not always brave1 and that they were    
superior to the ,indian in little else  
except in the gilding with which they   
covered their vicious and corrupt lives4
 ,they borrow their customs from ,paris 
and their style of living1 but their    
morals are even below the ,paris        
standard of virtue4   ,,woman',s        
,,rights ,,at ,,mexico4  ,the law1 which
 sinks the civil existence of the wife  
in the husband1 and which charges the   
husband with liability for the debts and
 trespasses of the wife1 is sometimes   
stigmatized as harsh1 unnatural1 and    
tyrannical4 ,if those that consider it  
so could for a little while enjoy the   

matrimonial freedom of ,mexico1 they    
would soon discover abundant reason for 
praising the wisdom of our ancestors in 
hedging about with so many disabilities 
an institution which is both the        
safeguard of public morality and of our 
free government4 ,family government1    
self-government1 and political freedom  
dwell together2 while despotism and     
family license are inseparable4 ,at     
,mexico1 old family relations are not   
broken up by new marriages4 ,household  
family worship is unknown1 but1 like so 
many pagans1 each one trudges off to say
 her prayers separately1 and at a       
favorite shrine4 ,the wife has her      
separate property and interests1 which  
she manages with the aid of her next    
friend4 ,the husband1 too1 has his      
separate interests1 and too often his   
next friend is his neighbor's wife4     
,after my return from ,mexico1 ,i heard 
a woman in a public assembly advocating1
 as social reforms1 the institutions of 
a country in a state of moral and       

political decomposition4 ,i felt like   
exclaiming1 ,cursed be that woman who   
would introduce into our happy country  
the social customs of paganism2 and     
cursed be that people who listen to her 
infidelity6 ,may a like evil fall upon  
those legislative tinkers who have      
deprived the husband of the power of    
creating a trust for the protection and 
support of his wife in time of          
necessity4  ,we have examined           
sufficiently the social condition of    
,mexico to show that there is no natural
 sympathy between the whites and the    
colored races1 or the governing and     
governed races of ,mexico4 ,for a brief 
period1 indeed1 ,guerrero1 a man of     
,indian descent1 occupied the           
presidency2 but he was deposed and      
murdered1 and the government has ever   
since been in the hands of the whites4  
,the present ,pinto war in the southwest
 looks toward again reviving the ,indian
 rule4 ,it is carried on too languidly  
to promise success1 as there seems to be

 no one in the movement possessed of the
 energy of that ,indian drummer1        
,carrera1 who usurped the supreme power 
in ,guatemala4 ,on the other hand1      
,mexico is like a ripe pear1 ready to   
fall into the lap of any unscrupulous   
adventurer who chooses to make common   
plunder of its churches1 its church     
jewels1 and the inordinate private      
fortunes of its priesthood and nobility4
   ,,mormonism ,,and ,,mohammedanism4   
,there is a rising cloud that is        
gathering blackness in the northwest1   
and must sooner or later precipitate    
itself and with the force of a tempest  
sweep away--to use the words of ,general
 ,tornel--in one mighty flood the       
religion1 language1 and national        
existence of the ,mexicans4 ,this is    
,mormonism4 ,i have watched this        
delusion from its rise1 near my own     
residence in ,western ,new ,york1 and   
followed its advancing progress1 until1 
from a little rill1 it has become a     
mighty torrent--a political element so  

potent that its existence in the ,united
 ,states is now scarcely tolerable4     
,where can it go except it precipitate  
itself upon the territories of imbecile 
,mexico8 ,to such a sect of fanatics    
,mexico can present no opposition4 ,it  
must surrender to ,brigham ,young and to
 his followers their wealth1 their      
images1 their wives and their daughters1
 as the ,aztecs surrendered all to      
,cortez4  ,i have often traced the close
 analogy between the rise of ,mormonism 
and that of ,mohammedanism1 as well as  
the striking similarity that exists     
between these two systems of false      
religion4 ,each one is founded1 after a 
fashion1 on the ,bible1 to which each   
has supplemented a volume of miserable  
fables1 the one called the ,book of     
,mormon1 and the other the ,koran4 ,each
 has a spurious prophet1 who is exalted 
above the prophets of ,scripture4 ,both 
systems permit polygamy1 and both are   
most ultra-,protestant in relation to   
the forms and ceremonies1 images and    

pictures of the ,oriental and ,latin    
churches4 ,and as ,god sent the great   
,mohammedan imposture to punish the     
corrupt ,christianity of a former age1  
so in like manner ,he may soon          
commission ,mormonism to wipe out of    
existence the corrupt ,christianity of  
,mexico4 ,mormonism has not yet         
developed a military character1 because 
it would be madness to raise an arm     
against the ,united ,states4 ,but when  
it shall have once passed the frontier  
and entered the dominions of a feeble   
state1 then we shall see how keen an    
edge fanaticism can give to the sword in
 the hands of men naturally courageous1 
when the double motive is held out of a 
new supply of wives1 and the            
inexhaustible treasures of the churches 
to stimulate their fanaticism4          
#ee ,having lost my memorandum1 ,i am   
uncertain whether the number       of   
days was one or more1 and whether the   
number of francs named       was six or 
eight4 ,the following is my best        

recollection of the       question and  
answer on theft3            ,q4 ,is     
theft a grave offense8            ,a4 ,a
 theft that does not exceed in value a  
day's labor is           not a grave    
offense2 some theologians contend that a
 theft           that does not exceed   
six francs is not a grave offense4      
#ef ,i again quote the ,catechism from  
recollection4            ,q4 ,what is a 
venial sin8            ,a4 ,a lie that  
does not destroy charity among neighbors
 is           a venial sin4             
,,chapter ,,xxvi4  ,the ,plaza of the   
,inquisition4--,the two ,modes of human 
,sacrifice1 the ,aztec and the          
,spanish4--,threefold ,power of the     
,inquisition4--,visit to the ,house of  
the ,inquisition4--,the ,prison and     
,place of ,torture4--,the ,story of     
,william ,lamport4--,the little and the 
big ,auto da ,fe4--,the ,inquisition the
 real ,government--,ruin of ,spanish    
,nationality4--,the political ,uses of  
the ,inquisition4--,political ,causes of

 the ,bigotry of ,philip ,,ii4--,his    
eldest ,son dies mysteriously4--,the    
,dominion of ,priests continues till the
 ,french ,invasion4   ,,an ,,auto ,,da  
,,fe4  ,the ,plazuelo or ,plazuelito1   
the ,little ,plaza of the ,inquisition1 
is now1 as it ever has been1 a          
market-place--the ,smithfield of        
,mexico4 ,on ,sundays and all other     
market-days1 there is here an abundant  
supply of flowers1 meats1 and           
vegetables4 ,on great holidays1 in the  
times of the vice-kings1 the scene was  
changed4 ,fruits and vegetables were1   
for the time1 placed in the background1 
and an act of faith 7auto da fe71 or    
burning of heretics1 was offered as a   
public spectacle4 ,the grandest of all  
the bull-fights of ,mexico was nothing  
in comparison with this vice-regal      
exhibition4 ,as among the ,aztecs and   
the pagan ,romans1 the sacrificial      
victims were kept in reserve for        
important occasions1 and for occasions  
when a bull-fight would have been a most

 inadequate exhibition4 ,the            
consecration of a new archbishop1 or the
 arrival of a new ,vice-king from       
,spain1 or the marriage of a member of  
the royal family1 or some similar       
important political or religious event1 
could only call forth this extraordinary
 show of roasting men alive4  ,if we are
 to believe the statements of ,cortez   
and ,bernal ,diaz1#eg the ,aztecs were  
accustomed to offer human sacrifices on 
festival days upon a large circular     
stone still preserved4 ,with an obsidian
 knife1 life was instantly extinguished 
by opening the heart-case and taking out
 the heart1 which was offered to their  
god of war4 ,this horrid worship1 if    
indeed it ever existed1 was suppressed1 
and one more horrid and cold-blooded in 
its atrocities substituted4 ,there was  
seldom wanting a victim on those great  
occasions1 for prisoners who would      
otherwise have been let off with        
confiscation of estates and a long      
imprisonment were now doomed to the     

flames1 to accomplish the double purpose
 of a spectacle and strike terror into  
the ranks of the higher classes1 who too
 often furnished the victims4 ,but the  
higher classes were all present4        
,suspicion might attach to their        
absence4 ,and he that dared not breathe 
aloud in his own bed-chamber1 or tell   
the whole truth at the confessional1    
from apprehension of an inquisitorial   
spy1 took good heed that no act or look 
of his on the day of the great fiesta   
should betray him to this secret1 but   
every where present tribunal1 lest he   
himself should be the sacrificial victim
 at the next entertainment4  ,the       
roasting of a human victim at the auto  
da fe was a purely democratic           
institution4 ,the leperos1 who were     
beneath the jurisdiction of the         
,inquisition1 felt none of the terrors  
that haunted the rich even in night     
visions4 ,without the least             
apprehension1 they enjoyed the          
magnificence of the spectacle1 and their

 hatred toward the high-born was        
gratified by the sight of one1 and      
sometimes many1 respectable persons     
burned in the fire for their            
entertainment4 ,they were always ready  
to manifest their gratitude to the holy 
office by assailing and perhaps         
murdering any one who had incurred the  
displeasure of the priests1 but whom it 
was not politic to arrest4 ,thus1 by a  
threefold power1 did the ,inquisition   
enforce the discipline of the ,church3  
by the authority of the king and the    
law1 the dread which it inspired2 the   
sympathies of a rabble1 whom it was     
their interest to keep brutalized2 and  
the religious sentiment of the nation1  
so far as there was any4 ,but this last 
was a very uncertain reliance1 for the  
same law which makes heresy a crime1    
legalizes hypocrisy1 and the inquisitor 
cared very little for the thoughts of   
men so long as they remain unuttered2   
and as no two men think alike1 the crime
 of heresy appears to consist in        

expressing too frankly the logical      
deductions of the understanding upon the
 all-important subject of religion4 ,to 
speak disrespectfully of the holy       
office1 the ,inquisition1 was the worst 
of heresy4   ,,the ,,halls ,,of ,,the   
,,inquisition4  ,the north front of the 
,plazuelo of the ,inquisition1 now      
generally called the ,plaza of the      
,dominicans1 is occupied by the great   
yard of the ,dominican convent1 which is
 separated by a high wall from the      
,plaza1 and by a street from the        
buildings of the ,inquisition4 ,within  
this yard there is a large flagstone1   
with a hole in its centre1 which stone1 
on days of the auto da fe1 used to be   
brought out into the ,plaza1 and1 with  
iron post1 neck-ring1 and chain         
attached1 constituted the simple        
apparatus for the human sacrifice4 ,the 
,dominican fathers have carefully laid  
aside the iron post1 with its ring and  
chain1 and perhaps1 with them1 the most 
valuable of the instruments of torture1 

which were removed from the ,inquisition
 building4 ,as there are two classes of 
bull-fights1 the ordinary and the grand 
bull-fight1 so there was the ordinary   
auto da fe1 performed in this ,little   
,plaza1 and the grand act of faith1 auto
 da fe general1 which ordinarily ought  
to come off in the ,grand ,plaza of the 
city1 in front of the vice-regal palace4
  ,seeing the great door open as ,i was 
passing1 ,i ventured to enter the       
central court of the ,inquisition1 from 
which the halls of the different        
tribunals and the chambers of the       
inquisitors and officials were entered  
and lighted4 ,all had now been          
thoroughly whitewashed and renovated1   
and bore no marks of the fearful scenes 
that had been here enacted4 ,when ,i    
stood in the hall where its judgments   
used to be delivered1 ,i had to tax my  
memory of books to draw a picture of    
events that here daily transpired in    
times past4 ,i saw no ,bridge of ,sighs1
 yet the whole institution was founded  

upon the sighs1 and groans1 and riven   
hearts of its victims1 of many of whom  
the world was not worthy4 ,the rich were
 the most profitable game1 but a        
beautiful woman was the most acceptable 
spectacle to a populace debased from    
infancy by attendance on bull-fights4 ,a
 foreigner that had been by special     
grace licensed to visit ,mexico1 was    
considered a fortunate prize1 for to    
offer a foreigner as a human sacrifice  
was in accordance with the ancient      
custom of the ,aztecs4 ,there was only  
one foreigner who amassed great wealth1 
and that was ,laborde the miner1 who    
bought his peace by building the        
,cathedral of ,toluca4  ,there was      
nothing to interest a stranger in the   
empty halls where once these legalized  
murderers had held their nightly        
meetings1 and ,i wandered away toward   
the prison and the place of torture1    
where1 inch by inch1 the life had been  
torn from the victims of priestly       
vengeance4 ,i shuddered as ,i entered   

the prison door-way1 though fifty years 
had passed since the last and most      
distinguished of its victims had entered
 here1 the ,vice-king ,iturrigaray4     
,here1 too1 the hand of the white-washer
 had been busy1 and the cells were now  
made comfortable rooms for the soldiery4
 ,the instruments of torture were all   
carefully removed from the place of     
torture1 and the room bore no marks of  
the shocking scenes which had here so   
often transpired4 ,here poor ,rame1 the 
,frenchman1 had dragged out his long    
imprisonment1 and here ,william         
,lamport1 the unfortunate ,irish victim1
 prepared himself for death4 ,but       
,lamport's story is worth giving in     
full1 to illustrate the scenes4         
,,story ,,of ,,william ,,lamport4       
,william ,lamport was an ,irishman by   
birth1 and must have been a ,roman      
,catholic1 or he could not have obtained
 a license to visit ,mexico4 ,he was    
probably one of that large class of     
,irish ,catholics who emigrated to      

,spain in order to enjoy their religion 
more freely than they could at home1    
under ,english oppression4 ,it was      
probably two intercepted letters that   
cost this ,irishman his life4 ,his      
accusation sets forth that he was the   
author of two writings1 in one of which 
things were said against the ,holy      
,office1 its erection1 style1 mode of   
process1 c41 in such a manner that1 in  
the whole of it1 not a word was to be   
found that was not deserving of         
reprehension1 not only as being         
injurious1 but also insulting to our    
holy ,catholic faith4 ,the ,prosecuting 
,attorney 7fiscal7 says of the other    
writing that it contained detestable    
bitterness of language1 and contumelies 
so filled with poison as to manifest the
 heretical spirit of the author1 and his
 bitter hatred against the ,holy        
,office4 ,let his fate be a warning to  
all traveling letter-writers who are    
disposed to criticise too severely the  
erection and style of a very            

awkward-looking building1 and the mode  
of process therein used in condemning   
men to the flames4 ,probably1 before he 
got through with his intercourse with   
the ,inquisition1 he many times wished  
himself back under the liberal          
government of the ,anglo-,saxon         
oppressors of his country6  ,it was a   
delightful day in the year #aefi1 when  
the most splendid auto da fe that ever  
took place in ,mexico was celebrated    
upon the occasion of the burning of     
,lamport4 ,a throne had been placed for 
the ,vice-king1 and conspicuous seats   
were prepared for the audiencia4 ,all   
the officials of the city and of the    
department were present to add          
importance to the grand performance     
7funcion74 ,not less brilliant was the  
display which the whole body of the     
priesthood made upon the occasion4 ,the 
,archbishop1 as spiritual ,vice-king1   
displayed a bearing that dazzled the    
populace1 while his attendant clergy1   
with the whole body of the monastic     

orders1 added immensely to the grand    
spectacle4 ,the procession1 headed by   
the ,grand ,inquisitor and his          
subordinates1 was followed by the       
officials and familiars1 while the poor 
,irishman walked with his eyes raised to
 ,heaven1 for the purpose1 said the     
priests1 of seeing if the devil1 his    
familiar1 would come to his             
assistance4#eh ,the sermon and the      
ordinary exercises1 including the oath  
administered to all the dignitaries     
present to support the ,holy ,office1   
were spun out to an unusual length1 so  
that it proved to be a protracted       
meeting1 as well as the greatest        
festival the ,mexicans ever witnessed   
since the time that ,montezuma offered  
human sacrifices4 ,but in the midst of  
the preliminary exercises ,lamport      
escaped burning alive1 for when his neck
 had been placed in the ring1 he let    
himself fall and broke his neck1 so that
 the crowd were compelled indignantly to
 put up with burning of the dead body of

 a heretic4 ,the unbeliever cheated them
 out of half their expected sport4      
,,the ,,inquisition ,,in ,,spain4  ,it  
may look like wandering from the main   
topic of discussion to devote a chapter 
to an institution which has ceased to   
exist for forty years4 ,but no one can  
fully comprehend the social and         
political character of the diverse and  
conflicting nationalities and discordant
 elements that for three hundred years  
constituted the ,spanish empire without 
fully understanding the character and   
workings of the ,inquisition1 which1    
from the ,council of the ,supreme in    
,spain1 extended1 with its complicated  
ramifications1 through all the          
provinces1 and penetrated every social  
organization in ,europe and ,america1#ei
 and even to the most distant ,east     
,india possessions1 binding all the     
several parts together as the nervous   
system does the parts of the human body2
 or rather by external folds1 as the    
anaconda does its victim4 ,the          

,inquisition was emphatically the       
nervous system of the ,spanish monarchy4
 ,from the time of ,philip ,,ii4 to the 
last of her kings1 ,spain had but one   
monarch that could have escaped a       
lunatic asylum on a commission ad       
inquirendo1 and not a single royal      
family in all that time that had not at 
least one judicially declared idiot in  
the household2 and more than once it was
 the regular successor to the throne4   
,and yet this ingeniously contrived     
craft of priests held all most firmly   
together1 and made it capable of        
resisting every outside pressure until  
the ,french imperial armies entered     
,madrid4  ,when ,french gunpowder was   
applied to the ,holy ,office1 the       
,spanish empire lost its nationality1   
and its different parts fell to pieces  
like a rope of sand1 and revealed to the
 world the sad truth that the ,spanish  
race1 whether in the ,peninsula or in   
the colonies1 was now incapable of      
self-government4 ,the ,inquisition had  

consumed its powers of vitality4 ,so    
long accustomed to submit to and lean   
upon despotic authority1 its various    
nationalities had lost the power of     
self-support4 ,spain1 from the earliest 
historical periods1 had ever been the   
victim of foreign colonial despotisms or
 imported tyrants until ,philip ,,ii41  
under whom the ,inquisition becoming    
firmly established1 it thenceforward    
continued a ,catholic province of the   
,roman ,church1 until ,rome and the     
,papal ,spanish empire fell together by 
the hands of ,napoleon4 ,from that time 
onward1 ,spain and all her former       
provinces have continued the sport of   
military insurgents--a melancholy       
evidence of the mental1 physical1 and   
moral ruin that overtakes a country     
abandoned to the despotism of priests4  
,though the origin of the ,inquisition  
of ,spain is familiar to all1 yet few   
are accustomed to look upon it in its   
political bearings4 ,the pious          
,isabella1 or1 as she is called by the  

descendants of the ,moriscoes1 ,isabella
 the ,accursed1 is conceded to have been
 the founder of the modern ,inquisition1
 and yet her great piety did not prevent
 her from giving a death-blow to the    
,fuero of ,castile1 the most liberal    
government of ,europe except that of    
,aragon4 ,the popularity which she      
acquired by the conquest of ,granada1   
the religious furor excited by that     
successful war1 and the union with      
,aragon1 enabled her to establish the   
,inquisition4 ,by means of her priests  
associated in its gloomy tribunals she  
was able to suppress popular rights4 ,a 
shadow of the ,fueros of ,catalonia1    
,valencia1 and ,aragon still remained1  
but she had sapped the foundation on    
which they rested by the establishment  
of the ,holy ,office4 ,charles ,v4 was  
sufficiently powerful to disregard such 
humble instrumentalities in carrying out
 any purpose he deemed to be of         
advantage to his states4 ,he was not a  
bigot by education1 and we have to look 

to disappointed ambition as the cause of
 the virulence with which he persecuted 
the least indication of heresy4 ,he had 
been thwarted in his ambitious schemes2 
this he attributed to the ,reformation1 
which he himself had fostered at its    
beginning1 in order to sow discord among
 the princes of ,germany4 ,he had hoped 
that upon their mutual jealousy he might
 establish despotic authority2 but the  
treason of ,maurice of ,saxony had      
subverted his darling scheme at the     
moment of its apparent success1 and in  
disgust he retired from public life to  
spend the remainder of his days in      
recruiting his health and cursing the   
heretics4   ,,philip ,,ii4 ,,and ,,the  
,,inquisition4  ,the ,inquisition burned
 with renewed flames under ,philip ,,ii4
 from precisely the same cause that had 
made it tolerable to his father4 ,to the
 troubles caused by the ,reformation he 
attributed the election of his uncle    
,maximilian ,king of the ,romans1 and   
his own consequent loss of the ,germanic

 empire4 ,but1 as a compensation for    
this loss1 he had substantially acquired
 ,england by his marriage with ,queen   
,mary1 and had the satisfaction of      
having his soldiers mingled with those  
of ,england in his war against ,france1 
and of seeing his own ,archbishop of    
,toledo preside in the tribunal that    
condemned to the flames the ,protestant 
bishops of ,england4 ,the autos da fe of
 ,smithfield were weeding out heresy and
 liberty from ,england1 which he already
 began to look upon as a province of his
 empire1 when his wife died1 and the    
avowed heresy of ,elizabeth blasted his 
hopes in that quarter4 ,the heretic     
,prince of ,nassau had raised           
insurrection in the ,netherlands1 which 
deprived him of ,holland4 ,when the     
,french ,catholic ,league1 which he had 
so long subsidized1 was about to declare
 him1 or at least his daughter1         
sovereign of ,france1 the relapsed      
heretic1 ,henry ,,iv41 blasted this hope
 by laying siege to ,paris4 ,on the side

 of the ,catholic states of ,europe his 
affairs went on most prosperously4 ,he  
had acquired ,portugal1 with all her    
,american and ,east ,india provinces4   
,but in these new acquisitions he was   
not safe from the assaults of the       
heretics4 ,the ,dutch robbed him of     
,brazil1 and of the ,cape of ,good      
,hope1 and of the islands of ,ceylon and
 ,java in the ,east ,indies4 ,when his  
missionary emissaries had excited an    
insurrection by which he might have     
acquired ,japan in a religious war1 the 
,dutch were there with their ships1 and1
 laying them alongside the rebel camp1  
they cannonaded it1 while the imperial  
army on the land side utterly destroyed 
together emissary priests and rebels1   
and forever excluded ,spain and her     
emissaries from the islands1 and even   
,england after the negotiation of a     
,spanish marriage4 ,nor were his        
treasure-ships safe from these audacious
 ,dutch1 who prowled about the ,west    
,indies and seized his galleons4 ,the   

ships from ,goa1 laden with the         
treasures of the ,east1 had to take a   
circuitous route to avoid the ,dutch1   
who were continually on the look-out at 
the ,cape of ,good ,hope4 ,as if this   
was not enough1 the failure of his great
 armada sent against ,england1 and the  
ravaging of his own coasts by ,essex1   
increased his hatred against the        
heretics to something like a mania4     
,these are sufficient reasons for       
accounting for the zeal of ,philip ,,ii4
 on the subject of religion1 and his    
blindness to the consequences of thus   
abandoning his empire and his people as 
common plunder to a merciless horde of  
plunderers1 who bound his empire most   
firmly together1 but it was in the bands
 of national ruin4 ,this1 too1 may      
account for his often-repeated remark   
that he would not shield his own son if 
he should incur the censure of the      
,inquisition4 ,when his eldest son and  
heir openly avowed his hatred to the    
,inquisition1 we find him dying a       

mysterious death4 ,it has already been  
remarked that there can be no such thing
 as reliance upon historical truth in a 
country where the ,inquisition is in    
full authority4 ,but it does not follow 
from this that we ought to adopt the    
popular surmise that ,philip was privy  
to the murder of his son1 or even that  
he was actually murdered4 ,it may have  
been a murder1 as the inquisitorial     
assassins were numerous1 or it may have 
been a natural death1 as represented in 
books that have been published by       
permission of the censors4 ,all that we 
know is1 that his death happened        
advantageously for the continuance of   
the ,holy ,office4   ,,fate ,,of ,,the  
,,inquisition4  ,philip ,,iii4 can      
hardly be considered an accountable     
being4 ,the same may be said of his son 
and of his son's sons1 to say nothing of
 those heirs to the ,spanish crown that 
were legally adjudged idiots4 ,the      
nominal father of ,charles ,,iii41      
though he was ,king of ,spain1 must be  

considered as not merely bordering on   
idiocy1 but as actually a man of unsound
 mind4 ,charles ,,iii41 though he had   
courage to drive from his dominions the 
,jesuits1 dared not undertake a reform  
of the clergy4 ,we may conclude this    
chapter by saying that the ,inquisition 
had its origin in political             
considerations1 or in the revengeful    
feelings of really great sovereigns of  
,spain1 and that its continuance was    
owing to the weakness or impotency of   
their successors2 and though it was the 
terror of all classes above the street  
rabble1 it was too powerful to be       
suppressed before the emancipation of   
the people which followed the ,french   
invasion4 ,such is the fate of a race   
over whom priests have once acquired    
dominion4        #eg ,the defense of the
 invasion of ,mexico by ,cortez in time 
of       peace1 and reducing the ,aztecs
 to slavery1 rests on the ground        
that the ,aztecs were monsters4         
#eh ,though ,i do not entirely follow   

,pinblanch1 yet ,i give him as          
authority for this incident4        #ei 
,mr4 ,gayarre1 who1 under a commission  
from the ,state of       ,louisiana1 is 
examining the colonial records at       
,madrid1 has       discovered the       
evidence of an attempt made to introduce
 the       ,inquisition into ,new       
,orleans even after our people had begun
 to       settle there4 ,this is his    
statement3          ,it appears1 says   
,gayarre1 that soon after the death of  
,charles ,,iii41 an attempt was made to 
introduce the much-dreaded              
tribunal of the ,inquisition into the   
colony4 ,the reverend         ,capuchin1
 ,antonio de ,sedella1 who had lately   
arrived in the         province1 wrote  
to the ,governor to inform him that he1 
the holy         father1 had been       
appointed ,commissary of the            
,inquisition2 that         in a letter  
of the #eth of ,december last1 from the 
proper         authority1 this          
intelligence had been communicated to   

him1 and         that he had been       
requested to discharge his functions    
with the         most exact fidelity and
 zeal1 and in conformity with the royal 
will4 ,wherefore1 after having made his 
investigations with the         utmost  
secrecy and precaution1 he notified     
,miro that1 in order         to carry1  
as he was commanded1 his instructions   
into perfect         execution in all   
their parts1 he might soon1 at some late
 hour         of the night1 deem it     
necessary to require some guards to     
assist him in his operations4           
,not many hours had elapsed since the   
reception of this         communication 
by the ,governor1 when night came1 and  
the         representative of the holy  
,inquisition was quietly reposing in    
bed1 when he was roused from his sleep  
by a heavy knocking4 ,he         started
 up1 and1 opening his door1 saw standing
 before him an         officer and a    
file of grenadiers4 ,thinking that they 
had come         to obey his commands1  

in consequence of his letter to the     
,governor1 he said1 ',my friends1 ,i    
thank you and his ,excellency           
for the readiness of this compliance    
with my request4 ,but ,i         have   
now no use for your services1 and you   
shall be warned in         time when you
 are wanted4 ,retire1 then1 with the    
blessing of         ,god4' ,great was   
the stupefaction of the friar when he   
was told         that he was under      
arrest4 ',what6' exclaimed he1 'will you
 dare         lay your hands on a       
,commissary of the holy ,inquisition8'  
',i         dare obey orders1' replied  
the undaunted officer1 and the          
reverend ,father ,antonio de ,sedella   
was instantly carried on         board  
of a vessel1 which sailed the next day  
for ,cadiz4          ,rendering an      
account of this incident to one of the  
members of         the cabinet of       
,madrid1 ,governor ,miro said1 in a     
dispatch1 'the         mere name of the 
,inquisition uttered in ,new ,orleans   

would be         sufficient not only to 
check immigration1 which is successfully
         progressing1 but would also be 
capable of driving away those           
who have recently come1 and ,i even fear
 that in spite of my         having sent
 out of the country ,father ,sedella1   
the most fatal         consequences may 
ensue from the mere suspicion of the    
cause of         his dismissal4'        
,,chapter ,,xxvii4  ,miracles and       
,earthquakes4--,the ,saints in ,times of
 ,ignorance4--,the ,eruption of         
,jorullo4--,the ,curse of the           
,capuchins4--,the ,consequences of the  
,curse4--,the unfulfilled ,curse4--,the 
,population of the                      
,republic4--,depopulation from #ahaj to 
#ahdj4--,the ,mixture of ,whites and    
,indians not prolific4--,the pure       
,indians4--,the ,meztizos4--,the ,white 
,population4--,negroes and              
,zambos4--,the ,jew and the ,law of     
,generation4--,the same ,law applies to 
,cattle4--,it governs the ,generation of

 ,plants4--,intemperance and            
,generation4--,meztizo ,plants          
short-lived4--,mexico can not be        
resuscitated4--,she can not recover her 
,northern ,provinces4   ,earthquakes    
are1 and ever have been1 very frequent  
through the whole of ,mexico4 ,yet they 
have never been very severe1            
particularly at the city1 as is         
demonstrated by the very existence of a 
city upon such a mass of soft earth as  
,i have shown in a former chapter       
constitutes the foundation of ,mexico4  
,a reasonable amount of hard shaking    
would dislocate its muddy basis and     
engulf the city4 ,now and then some     
unusually frail structure is toppled    
down1 and the church steeples are swayed
 a little this way or that1 but the     
cement that sustains them has heretofore
 proved sufficiently cohesive to save   
them from being shaken to pieces or     
tumbled down4#fj ,some ten years ago1   
the convent church1 in which was the    
miraculous image of our ,saviour1 was   

thrown down1 and the image that had     
annually poured forth its precious blood
 for the healing of the spiritual and   
temporal maladies of all pious believers
 was buried under the ruins4 ,but this  
calamity was only a precursor of a      
greater miracle2 for1 on removing the   
rubbish1 the sacred image was found     
intact1 and as ready as ever to bleed   
again to order for ready pay4 ,the      
spiritual interpretation of this        
astounding phenomenon was1 that the     
devil1 in his malice1 had attempted1 as 
of old1 to crush the miraculous power of
 the ,saviour2 and now1 again1 as upon  
the high mountain1 he was foiled1 and   
the flow of blood was not intermitted4  
,,ignorance ,,and ,,miracles4  ,miracles
 have ever been the most fruitful source
 of profit that the ,church enjoys1 for 
at the annunciation of every new miracle
 the faithful are quickened to devotion 
and to contributions1 which1 above all  
things1 is to be desired by the         
impoverished ,church of ,mexico4#fa ,an 

earthquake is always a windfall or a    
godsend to the priesthood4 ,an outsider 
is often surprised at the number of     
miracles that1 in old times1 were       
connected with earthquakes4 ,but rarely 
do we hear of modern miracles4 ,the     
spirit of miracles works only in times  
of most profound ignorance2 and         
experience has convinced the ,church    
that the only prospect of the           
continuation of miraculous visitations  
of the holy ,apostles and of the ,virgin
 in ,mexico1 depends upon the           
continuation of the people in the most  
profound ignorance1 and in childlike    
obedience to their spiritual superiors4 
,so long as this state of things        
continued1 the holy ,virgin was ever    
present among them1 performing the most 
astounding cures1 and even1 upon one    
occasion1 causing the ground to open and
 swallow up the surplus waters of the   
valley1 to the relief of the most devout
 people of ,mexico1 besides performing  
other astounding miracles1 that have    

been duly attested by ,pope1 prelates1  
and the ,council of ,rites4 ,but now1   
since the education of the common people
 has been attempted1 although on a very 
limited scale1 and men are allowed to   
speak openly1 the most holy ,virgin of  
,guadalupe has withdrawn her            
wonder-working power from an unbelieving
 people1 while the blind1 the halt1 the 
lame1 the palsied1 and the diseased     
crowd around her shrine1 not to obtain  
her healing mercy1 but to solicit       
charity4 ,the saints1 also1 have ceased 
to stir up the elements1 so that        
volcanic fires have ceased throughout   
the whole limits of the republic1 and   
earthquakes have almost forgotten to    
perform their annual duty of shaking the
 earth4  ,the last volcanic eruption in 
,mexico was one of the most astounding  
of which the record has come down to us1
 whether in ,mexico or in any other     
country4 ,fortunately1 we have reliable 
evidence in relation to this event1 for 
,humboldt not only surveyed the volcano 

as it appeared in his day1 but1 from    
eye-witnesses of the first eruption1    
learned the incidents that fill out the 
history1 and also the miraculous cause  
which is assigned for this mighty       
convulsion of nature4 ,his story ,i     
shall follow in preference to the       
popular tradition of the awful          
consequences that succeeded the curse   
pronounced by two ,capuchin friars upon 
the estate of ,jorullo4  ,just one      
hundred years ago1 which was fifty years
 before the time of the visit of        
,humboldt1 two ,capuchin friars came to 
preach at the estate which occupied the 
beautiful valley of ,jorullo4 ,this     
valley was situated between two basaltic
 ridges1 and was watered by two small   
streams of limpid water1 the ,san ,pedro
 and the ,cuitamba4 ,these small        
parallel rivers furnished an abundant   
supply of water1 which was well employed
 in irrigating flourishing sugar and    
indigo plantations4 ,these ,capuchins1  
not having met with a favorable         

reception at the estate of ,san ,pedro1 
poured out the most horrible            
imprecations against the beautiful and  
fertile plains1 foretelling that1 as the
 first consequences of their curse1 the 
plantation would be swallowed up by     
flames rising out of the earth1 and that
 afterward the neighboring mountains    
would forever remain covered with snow  
and ice4 ,after denouncing the curse1   
the two holy men went on their way4     
,,eruption ,,of ,,jorullo4  ,on the     
night of the #bhth and #bith of         
,september1 #agei1 horrible             
subterraneous noises were heard1 which  
had been preceded by slight shocks of an
 earthquake since the ,june preceding4  
,the affrighted ,indians fled to the    
,aquasareo1 and soon thereafter a tract 
of land twelve miles square1 which now  
goes by the name of the evil land 7mal  
pais71 rose up in the form of a bladder1
 and boiled1 and seethed1 and bubbled   
like a caldron of pudding1 shooting up  
columns of fire from ten thousand       

orifices4 ,sometimes a number of        
orifices would unite into one vast      
crater1 and vomit forth such a column of
 fire as was never before seen by human 
eyes since the time when the smoke of   
the country went up as the smoke of a   
furnace4  ,intelligent witnesses assured
 ,humboldt that flames were seen to     
issue forth1 which1 from a surface of   
more than a mile square1 cast up        
fragments of burning rock to a          
prodigious height4 ,the two small rivers
 were swallowed up1 and their decomposed
 waters added fuel to the flames1 which 
burned for many months with a fierceness
 that is indescribable4  ,such is the   
origin of the volcano of ,jorullo1 in   
the ,state of ,michoican1 and such is   
the pretended consequence of a curse    
pronounced by ,capuchin monks upon one  
of the most beautiful estates in the    
country2 and for generations since1 the 
dread of incurring the displeasure of   
strolling vagabond monks has rested like
 a blight upon the common people2 and   

yet this is but one of the thousand ways
 by which the ,mexican priesthood play  
upon the credulity of the ignorant in a 
country where convulsions of nature are 
matters of almost ordinary occurrence4  
,every extraordinary event in nature is 
ascribed to the exercise of supernatural
 power on the part of the clergy or the 
most holy images of the ,church4  ,the  
fires of ,jorullo have ceased to burn   
for half a century4 ,the central crater 
that was eventually formed1 and the     
numerous little orifices of fire1 have  
long since become cold1 and all the     
evidences of an active fire have passed 
away4 ,but to this day the ,indians     
watch the progress of the cooling       
process2 as they anticipate that1 before
 many years have passed1 the unfulfilled
 portion of the curse will be realized1 
and that those now live who will see the
 surrounding mountains covered by       
perpetual snow--an evil which the       
half-clad ,indians of the tropics appear
 to dread more than perpetual fire4     

,the last and only enumeration of the   
inhabitants of ,mexico or ,new ,spain   
was made in #agid1 by that distinguished
 ,vice-king to whom ,i have so often    
referred1 ,ravillagigedo4 ,this         
enumeration gave as the actual          
population #c1hfe1ebi1 besides the      
departments of ,vera ,cruz1 ,guanajuato1
 and ,cohahuila1 which were estimated to
 contain #eah1jjj more1 making a sum    
total of #d1dab1ebi4 ,since that time   
there has been a great deal of extensive
 guessing1 until by this simple process 
the population was brought up to        
#g1ffa1ebj1 in #ahec4fb ,the process by 
which this increase is effected is to   
add one sixth for supposed omissions in 
the census1 and a like number for       
supposed increase in the subsequent     
fifteen years till the breaking out of  
war1 and taking for granted that the    
population has not retrograded during   
forty-five years of intermittent war4   
,such conclusions are made in violation 
of all the laws of population4          

,,population ,,of ,,mexico4  ,it may not
 be uninteresting to my readers to run  
over the laws which regulate the        
decrease of population1 although it is  
too much our custom to look only at the 
other side of the picture4 ,the social  
and civil wars of ,mexico have been of  
such a character1 as we have seen1 as to
 warrant the belief that from this cause
 alone population must have constantly  
diminished1 from their very commencement
 in #ahaj until #ahdj1 when matters were
 comparatively resuscitated4 ,the       
employment for labor during the time    
that the large estates were neglected1  
and while the canals of irrigation and  
the silver mines were in ruins1 was of  
the most limited character2 and the very
 indigent circumstances to which it     
reduced the majority of those who ranked
 above the leperos must also have       
diminished the population of the        
republic much below that of the         
vice-kingdom under ,ravillagigedo4      
,since #ahdj1 notwithstanding the       

frequent wars1 ,mexico1 in favored      
localities1 may have slightly increased 
in population2 but this increase is more
 than balanced by the ,indian wars of   
the northern departments1 which have    
depopulated large tracts of country1    
sometimes extending across one tier of  
states even into the heart of ,durango  
and ,guanajuato2 so that ,i hazard      
nothing in affirming that the population
 of the whole country must be less      
to-day than it was in #agid1            
notwithstanding that ,humboldt sets down
 an estimate of #e1hjj1jjj for the year 
#ahjc1 and #f1ejj1jjj for the year      
#ahjh4 ,i might go farther1 and affirm  
that the constant insecurity of life and
 property in all but the central parts  
of the republic is such as to keep down 
the natural increase of a population    
never prolific1 being made up of a      
combination of uncongenial races--whites
 and ,indians1 whose intermixture leads 
to sterility4  ,the census shows two    
fifths of the population to be pure     

,indians1 mostly laborers3 this class   
would have been the one most likely to  
have increased since the ,revolution1   
had there remained the same amount of   
employment and wages as formerly4 ,in   
consequence of the abolition of         
monopolies1 the articles necessary for  
the comforts of life became much cheaper
 and more easy of attainment to the     
laboring classes1 which would tend to   
increase the number of this class4      
,these ,indians1 moreover1 had remained 
to a great extent free from the         
deleterious intermixture of white blood4
 ,but the pure ,indian1 compared with   
the pure ,caucasian1 is a race1 under   
the most favorable circumstances1 of    
slow increase4 ,the diseases hereditary 
among the ,indians are aggravated by    
promiscuous marriages1 so that in       
,california the missionaries used to    
inquire diligently after a man's family 
connections1 and compel a convert to    
marry into his own clan1 or not marry at
 all4  ,the ,meztizos1 or mixed races1  

constitute another two fifths of the    
population4 ,this is a less vigorous    
race than the pure ,indian4 ,they are   
all the children of sin1 mostly the     
offspring of illicit intercourse1 and   
are for this cause a feebler race than  
the offspring of the same mixture where 
the man was only blessed with a single  
wife4 ,as all marriage of whites with   
,indians in ,new ,spain was unlawful1   
these ,meztizos bore the same relation  
to the law in ,new ,spain which the     
mulattoes do in our ,southern ,states4  
,,races ,,in ,,mexico4  ,the whites were
 set down at one million1 or about one  
fifth of the whole population1 at the   
most prosperous period of the           
vice-kingdom4 ,i doubt if they now      
amount to half or even a quarter of that
 number1 and of this population there is
 a very vigorous ,french immigration1   
now amounting to five or six thousand1  
and about as many ,germans1 a handful of
 ,english1 and still less ,americans4   
,the native white population does not   

possess the physical energy requisite   
for rapid increase4 ,they form no       
portion of the laboring people2 they    
live in effeminacy1 and their children  
are not nursed at the healthy breasts of
 athletic negresses1 as are the children
 of our ,southern planters1 but are     
suckled by a more enervated race than   
themselves1 viz41 the ,meztizos4 ,the   
emigration from ,spain was never an     
emigration of laboring men4 ,it         
consisted almost entirely of priests1   
stewards1 clerks1 and taskmasters1 to   
whom labor was considered as degrading4 
,when the ,spaniards lost a monopoly of 
these employments1 and sank to the level
 of the native races1 their numbers     
rapidly declined4 ,the slight foreign   
immigration above mentioned is not one  
of laborers1 for labor is considered an 
unbecoming employment at ,mexico for    
white men1 but an immigration of        
tradesmen and shop-keepers1 who add     
nothing to the material wealth of the   
country4  ,of the ,mexican ,negro race  

,i never knew but two1 and one of them  
held the post of captain in the army1   
and the other was the naked alcalde1    
mentioned in a former chapter1 who was  
discharging the functions of ,judge of  
,first ,instance4 ,the reasons assigned 
for the disappearance of this race from 
,mexico after so large an importation of
 slaves as that which took place in the 
last century is the incongeniality of   
the climate of ,mexico1 particularly of 
the table-lands1 to the negro           
constitution4 ,at the breaking out of   
the ,mexican revolution1 almost the only
 negro slaves in the country were in the
 department of ,vera ,cruz4 ,the        
sugar-planters of the hot country of the
 interior1 finding it impossible to     
carry on their estates by the use of    
negro slaves1 attempted to reduce the   
mortality among their working people by 
raising up a race of those              
disgusting-looking beings called        
,zambos1 a cross of negroes and         
,indians2 but it was attended with the  

usual ill success that has followed     
every attempt to cross or intermingle   
different and distinct races of men1    
animals1 or even plants4                
,,intermixture ,,of ,,races4  ,the      
advantages arising from transplanting   
the human race1 as well as vegetables   
and plants1 are manifestly great4 ,but  
transplanting should never be confounded
 with intermixing races1 whether they be
 human1 or of the lower animals1 or of  
plants4 ,when ,god1 in his infinite     
wisdom1 saw fit to choose out a family  
that he destined to continue for        
thousands of years1 ,he transplanted it 
into a new soil and climate1 and        
subjected it to divers migrations4      
,first it went down into ,egypt1 and    
then1 with a high hand and an           
outstretched arm1 ,he brought it up out 
of ,egypt1 and after a sojourn of forty 
years in the wilderness1 ,he            
re-established it in the land of        
,canaan4 ,this is the origin of the most
 perfectly developed race of the present

 time4 ,whether in the tropics or in the
 most northern latitudes1 the ,jew is   
the same intellectual and physical man1 
and carries about with him the indelible
 marks of a descendant of those         
patriarchs who were commanded not to    
intermarry with the people among whom   
they dwelt4 ,the ,jew may wander and    
sojourn in strange lands1 but he        
cherishes with national pride the blood 
of ,abraham1 which he insists still     
flows in his veins1 and he is most      
careful1 of all things1 to transmit it  
pure to his children4 ,though ,canaan   
abounded with fragments of              
nationalities1 his boast is that his    
blood is not intermixed with any of     
them4 ,to the history of the ,jews we   
might add the experience of the         
,franciscan missionaries of ,california1
 that for a healthy offspring a man must
 marry among his own clan4  ,the        
constant complaints we hear of the      
deterioration of imported animals of    
choice breeds is the result of a        

disregard of this law of propagation4   
,the importations of ,merino sheep1 and 
afterward of the ,saxon1 proved a       
failure chiefly from this cause4 ,those 
engaged in the importation of ,english  
cattle begin already to make the same   
complaint1 which they would not have    
done had they taken the precaution to   
import their foreign stock in families4 
,the ,mulatto is an apparent1 not a real
 exception to the rule4 ,he is superior 
to the ,negro1 often superior to his    
white father2 but it is a superiority   
for a generation only1 and carries with 
it the seeds of its own dissolution4    
,the mule is superior to the donkey1 but
 lasts only for a generation4 ,the      
,oregon ox1 a cross between the ,spanish
 and ,american breeds1 is superior to   
either of the pure breeds4 ,but it is   
the concentration in one animal of what 
might be the material of divers         
generations4  ,i once asked a ,dutchess 
county farmer the cause of the great    
superiority of his crops of wheat over  

those of his neighbors1 and his reply   
was that he always brought his seed from
 a distance1 changed it often1 and took 
good care not to let it intermix with   
the wheat of that region4 ,the same1 or1
 rather1 greater results have attended  
the transportation of ,american seeds   
and plants to ,california1 where a new  
soil and a new climate has produced upon
 all the staples of agriculture such an 
improvement as to astonish men who have 
made this branch of industry a study4   
,it is the result of the migration of   
plants where there are no plants of the 
same character to intermix1 and so      
deteriorate the race by crossing the    
breed4 ,in trees the same law holds     
unchangeably4 ,we produce fine fruit by 
inoculation and by grafting2 but        
experience has taught us never to       
inoculate upon a grafted stem1 but      
always upon a natural branch4 ,as the   
,conquistadors selected the best-looking
 ,indian women for the mothers of the   
,meztizos1 so the fruit-raiser selects  

the best natural stems to inoculate with
 his artificial varieties of fruit4 ,in 
this way we get better fruit by         
exhausting the root1 and a whole race of
 plants are sometimes worn out by       
mixture from too close a proximity of   
the different families of the same      
genus4 ,in the laws which ,moses gave to
 the children of ,israel1 we find a     
provision against the evils of          
intermixtures in the precept3 ,thy      
cattle shall not gender with diverse    
kind4 ,thou shalt not sow the field     
with1 divers seeds4 ,in these precepts  
,god has taken care to guard the        
wholesome generation of plants as well  
as of animals4  ,the successful         
intermingling of the ,protestant        
,anglo-,saxon immigration with our own  
people in the second and third          
generations is not an exception to the  
law of generation1 as both are but      
branches of the same stock1 and are     
successfully planted together4 ,nor is  
the mortality which follows the         

,catholic immigration an exception to   
the beneficial law of migration1 for    
habits of intemperance account for the  
short lives of these immigrants2 and    
though their offspring is abundant1 yet 
it is all tainted with an inheritance of
 disease1 and too many of the children  
suffer the ruinous consequences of      
having drawn still slops from a mother's
 breast in infancy4 ,for physically1 and
 in the chain of generation1 most truly 
are the sins of the fathers visited upon
 the children to the third and fourth   
generation4  ,our collection of material
 for an argument will be complete when  
,i have added that the trees most       
prolific of artificial fruit die the    
earliest1 and suffer most from running  
sores2 that the vines cultivated        
artificially to produce the choicest    
wines suffer most from the mildew1 and  
the potatoes of the most artificial     
varieties are the ones that have        
suffered most from the rot4 ,when the   
cholera first visited ,mexico1 its      

passage through the country was like the
 ravages of the ,angel of ,death among  
the ,meztizos and the fragments of      
decaying races4 ,and this progress      
toward depopulation can not be stayed by
 the infusion of a vigorous stock4 ,the 
law of sexuality in plants leads to the 
intermarriage of the vigorous with the  
decaying and the intermixture of        
blossoms2 nor can human plants long     
vegetate together without               
intermarriages1 which ingraft the       
vigorous constitutions with the virus of
 the old and decaying4   ,,prospects    
,,of ,,mexico4  ,if1 then1 ,i have      
correctly enunciated the law of         
migration of men1 animals1 and plants1  
and if the law of intermixture of       
distinct races1 or distinct species of  
the race1 has been truly stated1 the    
important argument to be drawn from it1 
which interests all ,americans inquiring
 into the future of ,mexico1 is1 that   
the present incongruous fragments of    
population which the internal disorders 

of ,spain have set loose in ,mexico can 
never be transformed into a homogeneous 
nationality1 nor can sufficiently       
permanent elements of strength be found 
in this political chaos to constitute a 
permanent government4 ,the degraded     
condition to which labor is reduced     
forbids the idea of an immigration of   
foreign laborers1 while the miserable   
scale of wages--a quarter of a dollar a 
day upon the estates1 payable out of the
 plantation store1 or three shillings in
 the towns--holds out no inducement for 
poor men of a healthy race to abandon   
their own country and migrate to ,mexico
 in sufficient numbers to form a        
substratum of society which ultimately  
might rise into a nationality4  ,a still
 more important question is disposed of 
by the facts stated in this chapter1    
viz41 that there is no possibility of   
the present inhabitants of ,mexico ever 
successfully driving back the ,apaches  
and reconquering the northern provinces4
 ,her title to the wild regions of the  

north1 which rests on discovery and     
colonization1 is lost by her utter      
inability to subdue the ,indians and to 
colonize1 after a probation of three    
hundred years4 ,at this day the whole of
 the northern provinces lie1 like waifs1
 open to any civilized people to take   
possession who require an additional    
territory4 ,but nothing is so absurd as 
the ,american process of acquisition by 
treaty of territories which already are1
 or soon will be1 covered all over by   
immense land-claims1 in districts       
subjugated by the ,indians1 instead of  
acknowledging the title of the ,apaches 
to the lands they have conquered from   
,mexico1 and long held in possession1   
and purchasing of those who are the real
 sovereigns of ,northern ,mexico4       
#fj ,an attempt was made to explain away
 the story of ,cortez       getting     
drowned out at ,iztapalapan1 a point    
above the level of       the city of    
,mexico1 by suggesting that perhaps an  
earthquake       may have changed the   

face of the valley4 ,but1 unfortunately1
       ,iztapalapan was the southern    
support of the old ,indian levee        
7calzado71 built to keep the water off  
of the city of ,mexico in       seasons 
of heavy rains4        #fa ,though the  
richest ecclesiastical quasi-corporation
 in the       world1 your ears are      
constantly saluted with solicitations   
for       contributions to the          
impoverished ,church4        #fb        
,colleccion de ,leyes1 p4 #ahd4         
,,chapter ,,xxviii4  ,the ,church of    
,mexico4--,its present ,condition and   
,power4--,the ,number of the            
,religios4--,the ,wealth of the         
,church4--,the ,money-power of the      
,church4--,the ,power of                
,assassination4--,educating the ,people 
robs the ,priest4--,making and adoring  
,images4--,the ,progress downward4      
,the ,catholic ,church of ,mexico is a  
peculiar institution4 ,its historical   
antecedents have been considered in     
previous chapters in connection with    

other subjects4 ,men no longer whisper  
their unbelief with trembling1 nor have 
they any longer to dread inquisitorial  
fires if they refuse to pay tithes to   
the bishop1 or if they neglect to bestow
 rich gifts upon the priests4 ,still the
 ,church survives the losses of this    
important engine of piety1 and continues
 unmodified by passing events4 ,in the  
midst of revolutions it stands          
unchanged1 a relic of the last century4 
,it stands like a great showman's wagon 
from which the horses have been         
detached1 and children1 great and small1
 are collected around to look at its    
images4 ,unfortunately1 there is an     
abundance of full-grown children in a   
country where1 for centuries1 a         
combination of spiritual and temporal   
despotisms have dwarfed the intellects  
of men down to the standard of a        
toy-shop religion1 which had long       
rejoiced in crushing the human          
intellect1 while it disdained to        
enlighten the humblest understanding4   

,illustration3 ,,mexican ,,priests      
,,traveling4  ,mexico is the only       
,catholic country in which the ,church  
has remained unchanged during all the   
revolutions of the last half century4   
,the ,french infidel armies1 and the    
wars and revolutions that followed the  
,french invasions1 overturned the       
,church of ,spain and ,italy1 so that   
the ,church organization that now exists
 in those peninsulas is a new creation4 
,not so in ,mexico4 ,its revolution was 
for the purpose of saving the privileges
 of the ,church from the too sweeping   
reforms of the ,cortes of ,spain4 ,and  
there it now stands1 with all the       
properties and annuities which it       
enjoyed in the time of the idiot kings4 
,the ,inquisition no longer enforces    
with fire the censures of the ,church1  
and men are no longer compelled by legal
 process to pay tithes4 ,but for these  
losses the ,church has received a heavy 
compensation4 ,the priests and          
inquisitors who ruled the childish court

 of ,spain would allow no independence  
to the ,mexican ,church1 but supplied1  
by royal appointment1 all the candidates
 for vacant bishoprics and chapters1    
while the ,vice-king was allowed to fill
 the inferior offices of the ,church4   
,by the partial separation of ,church   
and state which took place in #ahcc1 the
 ,church of ,mexico became independent  
of the state4 ,the chapters acquired the
 right of electing their own bishops2   
the bishops1 by virtue of their         
spiritual authority1 appointing the     
priests and exercising control over all 
,church property as quasi               
corporations-sole1 at least over all    
property not vested in religious        
communities1 if practically there could 
be said to be any real exception4 ,what 
that newly-acquired power of the        
,mexican bishops amounts to1 we in the  
,united ,states1 from our own experience
 of the same authority1 can judge4      
,,statistics ,,of ,,the ,,church4  ,that
 the reader may know how extensive is   

this money-power of the bishops1 ,i     
subjoin an extract from a statistical   
chart#fc published by ,senor ,lerdo de  
,tejado1 ,first ,official de ,ministerio
 de ,fomento1 the following synopsis of 
the clergy and their incomes3  ,there is
 one archbishop1 the ,archbishop of     
,mexico1 and eleven bishops1 and one to 
be created at ,vera ,cruz4 ,there are   
#ahd prebends and #abbi parishes4 ,the  
total number of ecclesiastics is        
#cbbc4fd ,there are #adf convents of    
monks and #ei convents of nuns1 and #h  
colleges for propagating the faith4 ,the
 convents of monks are inhabited by     
#aaci persons1 and there are #aeda nuns 
in convents1 and with them #gdj young   
girls and #hgj servants4 ,there are #bch
 persons in the colleges for propagating
 the faith4 ,this is less than half the 
number of the religios under the        
vice-kings1 while the riches of the     
,church have immensely increased1 as we 
shall presently see4   ,,revenue ,,of   
,,the ,,church4  ,i translate from the  

same author1 in a note1 statistics upon 
the much-agitated question of the wealth
 of the ,church of ,mexico1#fe from     
which it will be seen that the total    
amount consumed in the maintenance of   
these #cbbc persons1 is annually        
#bj1jjj1jjj1 besides the very large sums
 expended in the repairs and ornaments  
of an enormous number of churches1 and  
in gifts at the shrines of the different
 images1 which can not be appropriated  
to the maintenance of the clergy4 ,this 
sum of #bj1jjj1jjj1 if fairly divided   
among them1 would yield an abundant     
support1 though not an extravagant      
living2 but1 unfortunately1 the greatest
 portion of this immense sum is absorbed
 by the bishops1 while the priests of   
the villages contrive to exist by the   
contributions they wring out of the     
peons4 ,at the time of the census1      
#agic1 the twelve bishops had #eci1jjjff
 appropriated to their support2 but now 
their revenues are so mixed up with the 
revenues of the ,church1 that it is     

impossible to say how much these twelve 
successors of the apostles appropriate  
to their own support4   ,,money-,,power 
,,of ,,the ,,church4  ,in place of the  
,inquisition which the reformed ,spanish
 government took away from the ,church  
of ,mexico1 the ,church now wields the  
power of wealth1 almost fabulous in     
amount1 which is practically in the     
hands of a close corporation-sole4 ,the 
influence of the ,archbishop1 as the    
substantial owner of half the property  
in the city of ,mexico1 gives him a     
power over his tenants unknown under our
 system of laws4 ,besides this1 a large 
portion of the ,church property is in   
money1 and the ,archbishop is the great 
loan and trust company of ,mexico4 ,nor 
is this power by any means an           
insignificant one4 ,a bankrupt          
government is overawed by it4 ,men of   
intellect are crushed into silence2 and 
no opposition can successfully stand    
against the influence of this ,church   
lord1 who carries in his hands the      

treasures of heaven1 and in his         
money-bags the material that moves the  
world4 ,to understand the full force of 
his power of money1 it must be borne in 
mind that ,mexico is a country          
proverbial for recklessness in all      
conditions of life2 for extravagant     
living and extravagant equipages2 a     
country where a man's position in       
society is determined by the state he   
maintains2 a country1 the basis of whose
 wealth is the mines of precious metal2 
where princely fortunes are quickly     
acquired and suddenly lost1 and where   
hired labor has hardly a cash value4 ,in
 such a country1 the power and influence
 of money has a meaning beyond any idea 
that we can form4 ,look at a prominent  
man making an ostentatious display of   
his devotion3 his example is of         
advantage to the ,church1 and the       
,church may be of advantage to him1 for 
it has an abundance of money at #f per  
cent4 per annum1 while the outside      
money-lenders charge him #b per cent4   

per month4 ,the ,church1 too1 may have a
 mortgage upon his house over-due2 and  
woe betide him if he should undertake a 
crusade against the ,church4 ,this is a 
string that the ,church can pull upon   
which is strong enough to overawe       
government itself4  ,this money-power of
 the ,church yet lacks completeness and 
concentration to make it even a         
tolerable substitute for the power lost 
by the abolition of the ,inquisition1 as
 this wealth is distributed among #ab   
independent bishops4 ,but1 having       
succeeded in establishing the temporal  
power of her bishops in ,mexico more    
firmly than in the ,united ,states1 the 
,papal court made another step in       
advance4 ,in #aheb1 ,mexico was         
electrified with delight at the         
condescension of the ,holy ,father in   
sending a nuncio to that city4 ,for two 
full years this representative of the   
,holy ,see was feted and toasted on all 
hands1 as little less than the ,pope    
himself1 whom he represented4 ,but last 

year all these happy feelings were      
dashed with gall and wormwood by an     
announcement that as the bishops        
controlled all this immense property by 
virtue of their spiritual authority1    
there was a resulting trust in his      
favor1 or at least in favor of the      
,pope1 whom he represented with full    
powers4 ,it was ,pandora's box opened in
 the midst of a happy family4 ,there was
 no disputing the nuncio's law2 but to  
render to him an account of their       
receipts and disbursements1 or to       
deliver over the bonds and mortgages to 
this agent of the ,pope1 was most       
unpleasant4 ,the old ,archbishop keeps  
fast hold of the money-bags1 which1 so  
far1 the keys of ,saint ,peter have been
 unable to unlock4 ,the battle waxes    
loud and fierce between the parties and 
their partisans1 and ,santa ,anna stands
 looking on1 dreaming of the happy time 
when1 through the internal dissensions  
of the ,church1 these accumulations of  
#cjj years of robbery and false         

pretenses will fall into the public     
treasury1 and the people as well as the 
government will obtain their            
enfranchisement4  ,the money-power of   
the ,church has proved sufficiently     
strong to save it from the hungry maw of
 a famishing government1 and to stand   
unaffected by the revolutions that      
surround it2 and now and then1 when too 
bitterly assailed by some political     
reformer1 it finds relief in the        
assassination of the assailant1 as in   
the case of the eloquent member of the  
last ,congress1 who1 after a violent    
philippic against the corruptions of the
 priests1 was found murdered in his     
chamber4 ,and1 as in case of the        
inquisitorial assassinations1 the crime 
was proved to have been connected with a
 robbery4 ,the power to overawe courts  
of justice1 proverbially corrupt1 and   
the facilities with which assassinations
 are procured1 are now the most dreaded 
weapons of the ,church1 and may account 
for the nominal conformity of the       

intelligent classes4  ,the unbelievers  
in ,mexico1 though considerable in      
numbers1 are not organized with a       
positive creed4 ,theirs is only a       
negative existence--unbelief2 and they  
are generally found conforming          
outwardly1 as a more convenient and     
prudent course than running a tilt with 
the well-organized forces of the        
,church4  ,there is nothing peculiar in 
the spiritual powers of the ,church of  
,mexico1 as these powers are common to  
all ,catholic countries1 and vary only  
with the ignorance and brutality of the 
people2 the more degraded the people1   
the greater is the power of the priest  
and bishop4 ,the intelligent ,catholic1 
educated among ,protestants1 looks upon 
his priest as a religious instructor1   
and interprets the ego te absolvo as    
rather a matter of form1 meaning little 
more than that he will intercede for    
him4 ,he has caught and is applying a   
,protestant idea unwittingly4 ,but with 
the gross multitude who constitute the  

mass of the ,spanish-,american          
population1 the priest is the ,god of   
the people2 his giving or withholding   
absolution is a matter of life or death2
 and1 however corrupt and debauched he  
may be1 he still holds jurisdiction over
 the pains of hell and the bliss of     
heaven4 ,for a reasonable consideration 
in money1 he will shut up the one and   
open the other4 ,the offering in the    
mass of the bloodless sacrifice of      
,jesus ,christ1 as it is called1 is not 
sufficient for the ,catholic in a       
,protestant country1 but the priest must
 also preach a sermon every ,sabbath1   
like a ,protestant minister1 though he  
still holds to the efficacy of the mass 
in conferring blessings on the living   
and the believing dead4 ,the preaching  
of the priest is a rare thing in an     
exclusively ,catholic country4 ,the mass
 is his livelihood1 and if he be the    
head of a community1 or a popular       
priest1 he often makes a profit in      
taking in masses to say1 and letting out

 the job at a discount4 ,the whole      
matter may be summed up by saying that  
the more profoundly ignorant the people 
are1 the more devotional do they become1
 so that the priest has always a        
pecuniary interest in the ignorance of  
the people1 and if he makes any effort  
toward their enlightenment1 it is an    
effort made directly against his own    
pecuniary interests and the income of   
his office4   ,,worship ,,of ,,images4  
,the most ancient anti-,catholic1 ,i    
might with propriety say1 ,protestant   
sect1 whose form of synagogue worship is
 congregational1 and who are republican 
at heart1 though too often submitting to
 a despotism1 are the ,jews4 ,between   
these two1 the ,jew and the ,catholic1  
there exists an unmitigated hostility4  
,the ,catholic reviles the ,jew with a  
sin of which1 most likely1 his own      
ancestors were not guilty1#fg and the   
,jew curses the ,nazarene for the       
idolatry of his worshipers4 ,he will    
make no allowances for the nice         

distinction between adoration and       
worship1 and insists that the making the
 likeness of any thing to be set up in a
 place of worship is idolatry1 and that 
the image of the cross is as much an    
image as the image of ,him who hung     
thereon4 ,and in all this the ,jew is   
right1 if we are to obey the commandment
 of ,god4 ,yet the ,jew forgets that a  
thousand years of trial were requisite  
to cure his ancestors of their proneness
 to idols4 ,after their first mission1  
accomplished in the birth of ,christ1   
,god has preserved them a perpetual     
witness against paganism4 ,but so subtle
 is this sin1 that we find ourselves    
setting up sensuous representations1    
while we point the finger of scorn at   
the ,catholic1 who ascribes miraculous  
power to an image of the ,virgin4 ,and  
what is the difference1 the ,almighty   
himself being judge1 between setting up 
a cross in a place of worship or        
ascribing miraculous power to an image1 
or1 as is the fashion to say1 some      

spirit acting through the image8 ,are   
they not different stages of the same   
disease1 and each equally calculated to 
provoke the ,almighty to jealousy4      
,,summary ,,of ,,evils4  ,image worship 
has another curious aspect4 ,it is a    
very tolerable thermometer by which to  
measure the downward progress of        
nations4 ,pagan ,rome1 in times of      
comparative purity1 had her laws against
 idolatry2 but as her higher classes    
advanced in refinement and sensuality1  
and the plebeians became debased and    
brutalized1 the whole religious ideas of
 the nation degenerated into idolatry1  
associated with a despotic              
miracle-working priesthood1 and soon    
followed by a political despotism4 ,it  
is curious to witness how exactly it    
takes on the same form in different     
countries in traveling this downward    
road4 ,the ,buddhist of ,china1 who has 
reached a thousand-fold lower level than
 the ,catholic1 has his unmarried       
priesthood1 his monks1 and nuns1 and    

self-imposed penances1 and tortures1 and
 holy water1 and a ritual in an unknown 
tongue 7,sanscrit71 so strikingly       
resembling the ,catholic as to suggest  
the idea of a common origin1 if such an 
idea were not impossible4 ,yet in the   
moral standard they seem to have reached
 the point of total depravity4 ,hence we
 might sum up the cause that have       
produced the ,mexican of the present day
 by enumerating the absence of the      
scriptural idea of family relation2 the 
despotism exercised by the priesthood   
with the aid of an ,inquisition1 and the
 unnumbered toll-gates they have placed 
on the road to heaven2 the effeminacy of
 the higher classes and debasement of   
the peasantry2 the absorption of half   
the revenues of the country in          
superstitious and idolatrous purposes1  
and the uncleanly habits superinduced by
 mental and physical degradation for    
generations1 so that the word leper is  
used to designate a poor man in the city
 where that loathsome disease has its   

victims4        #fc ,grando ,sinoptico  
de la ,republica ,mejicana en #ahej4    
,por       ,miguel ,m4 ,lerdo y ,tejado2
 approved by the ,mexican ,society of   
,geography and ,statistics4        #fd  
,this number #cbbc includes all of the  
#aaci monks1 except the       lay       
brothers4 ,the two classes of priests1  
those who are not monks       and those 
who are monks1 are distinguished in     
,catholic countries       as seculars   
and regulars 7clerigos and religios74   
,humboldt       says the ,mexican clergy
 are composed of #aj1jjj individuals    
7,essai ,politique1 vol4 i4 p4 #agb71   
and1 including the nuns1 and       lay  
brothers and sisters1 he puts the sum   
total of the religious       at #ad1jjj4
 ,but in a note he gives the numbers in 
five of the       principal departments 
out of twelve1 which foot up at only    
#edje       for the clergy of both      
orders4        #fe ,the general revenue 
destined for the maintenance of the     
clergy and of religious services in the 

republic may be divided       into four 
classes3 first1 that which appertains to
 the bishops       and to the canons1   
who form the chapter of the ,cathedral2 
second1       those revenues which      
appertain to particular ecclesiastics   
and       chaplaincies2 third1 those of 
curates and vicars2 fourth1 those       
of divers communities of religios1 of   
both sexes4        ,the first class is  
principally of tithes and first-fruits1 
the       product of which was very     
considerable in times past1 when they   
included a tenth part of all the first  
fruits which grew upon the       soil of
 the republic1 and the firstlings of the
 cattle4 ,but       lately this revenue 
has much fallen off1 since by the law of
 the       #agth of ,october1 #ahcc1 it 
is no longer obligatory upon the        
cultivators to pay this contribution4   
,nevertheless1 there still       are    
many persons who1 for conscientious     
reasons1 or for other       cause1      
continue to pay this tax1 so that it    

produces a very       considerable sum4 
,this part of the clergy also receive   
considerable sums which have been left  
by devout persons for the               
performance of certain annual ceremonies
 called       anniversaries4        ,the
 collegiate church of our ,lady of      
,guadalupe has1 in addition       to a  
monthly lottery1 which operates upon a  
capital of #ac1jjj1       certain       
properties and other capitals of which  
the government       takes no account4  
,particular ecclesiastics and chaplains 
are supported on a       capital        
generally of #cjjj1 established by      
certain pious persons       for that    
object1 besides the alms of the         
faithful1 which are       given for a   
certain number of masses to be applied  
to objects of       their devotion4     
,the support of curates consists of     
parochial rights1 viz41       fees for  
baptisms1 marriages1 funerals1          
responses1 and religious                
celebrations 7funcions7 which1 in their 

respective churches1       they command 
the faithful to make2 and1 finally1 by  
the profits       which they derive from
 the sale of novenas1 medals1           
scapularies1 ribbons 7madedas71 wax1 and
 other objects which       the          
parishioners employ4        ,the income 
of convents of monks1 besides the alms  
which they       receive for masses1    
funcions1 and funerals1 which they      
celebrate in the convent churches1      
consists of the rents of great          
properties which they have accumulated  
in the course of ages4        ,the      
convents of nuns are in like manner     
supported by the income       of great  
estates1 with the exception of two or   
three convents       which possess no   
property1 and whose inmates live on     
charity4        ,besides the incomes    
named1 which pertain to the personnel of
       the clergy1 there are1 in the    
cathedrals and other parochial          
churches1 revenues which arise from some
 properties and       foundations       

created for attending to certain dues   
called       fabrica which consist of   
all those objects necessary for the     
services of this worship 7culta74       
,from the want of publicity which is    
generally observed in the               
management of the properties and rents  
incomes of the clergy1       it is      
impossible to fix exactly the value of  
one or the other2       but they can be 
calculated approximately by taking for  
the basis       those data which are    
within the reach of the public1 which   
are       the total value of the        
production of the annual return         
7movimiento7 of the population for      
births1 marriages1 deaths1       and1   
finally1 the devout practices which are 
still customary       among the greater 
part of the population4 ,observing      
carefully       these data1 ,i assume1  
without the fear of committing a great  
error1 that the total amount which the  
clergy to-day realize in       the whole
 extent of the republic1 for rents1     

proceeds of       tithes1 parochial     
rights1 alms1 religious ceremonies      
7funcions71 and for the sale of divers  
objects of devotion1 is       between   
eight and ten millions of dollars4      
,some writers have estimated the        
properties belonging to the       clergy
 at one half of the productive wealth of
 the nation2 others       at one third  
part2 but ,i can not give much credit to
 such       writers1 as they are only   
calculations that rest on no certain    
data4 ,i am sure that the total amount  
of the property of the       clergy1 for
 chaplaincies1 foundations1 and other   
pious uses1       together with rustic  
and city properties1 which belong to the
       divers religious corporations1   
amount to an enormous sum1              
notwithstanding the falling off that is 
said to have taken place       from the 
amounts of former years4        ,all    
property in the district of ,mexico     
federal district is       estimated at  
#ej1jjj1jjj1 the half of which pertains 

to the       clergy4 ,uniting the       
product of this property to the tithes1 
parochial rights1 etc41 ,i am well      
assured that the total of the           
income of the clergy amounts to from    
eighteen to twenty millions       of    
dollars4        #ff ,the ,archbishop of 
,mexico                    #acj1jjj     
,the ,bishop of ,pueblo                 
#aaj1jjj            ,the ,bishop of     
,valladolid                     #aaj1jjj
            ,the ,bishop of ,guadalajara
                     #ij1jjj            
,the ,bishop of ,durango                
#ce1jjj            ,the ,bishop of      
,monterey                        #cj1jjj
            ,the ,bishop of ,yucatan    
#bj1jjj            ,the ,bishop of      
,oajaca                          #ah1jjj
            ,the ,bishop of ,sonora     
#f1jjj                                  
--------            ,total individual   
income of twelve bishops   #eci1jjj     
--,essai ,politique1 vol4 i4 p4 #agc4   
,the reason why the ,bishop of ,sonora  

was limited to #fjjj was that       his 
diocese was so poor that he had that    
salary paid out of the       king's     
revenue4        #fg ,most of the ,jews  
of our day are the descendants of the   
,babylonian ,jews1 who did not return to
 ,jerusalem after the       ,captivity1 
but remained in the province of ,babylon
 until they       were driven out1 some 
four hundred or more years after        
,christ2       the ,babylonian1 not the 
,jerusalem ,talmud1 being most commonly 
in       use among them4     ,,chapter  
,,xxix4  ,causes that have diminished   
the ,religios4--,the ,provincials and   
,superiors of ,convents4--,the perfect  
,organization4--,the ,monks4--,san      
,franciscans4--,dominicans4--,carmelites
4--,the well-reputed ,orders4--,the     
,jesuits4--,the ,nuns4--,how ,novices   
are procured4--,contrasted with a       
,quaker ,prison4--,the poor deluded     
,nun4--,a good old ,quaker ,woman not a 
,saint4--,protestantism felt in ,mexico4
   ,,the ,,religious ,,orders4  ,the    

monkish orders of ,mexico have remained 
unchanged from the time of their first  
establishment4 ,we have seen that they  
have fallen off immensely in numbers1   
but have increased immensely in         
efficiency1 by the termination of those 
internal controversies between the      
,spanish-born and ,creoles1 and by      
enfranchisement from state control4 ,not
 only are they now all native-born1 but 
the ,meztizos seem to be the predominant
 race in the priesthood4 ,the priesthood
 is not now so inviting an employment as
 it was before the suppression of the   
,inquisition4 ,miracles have ceased to  
be a profitable speculation1 while the  
revenue once paid to the monks has been 
followed by ill-suppressed contempt4    
,the employment once monopolized by the 
,spaniards being now thrown open to     
general competition1 there is less      
willingness to submit to the despotism  
which ever reigns in religious houses   
than there was in the times of the      
vice-kings4 ,hard fare1 cruel treatment1

 and public contempt have diminished the
 candidates for monastic orders1 until  
the old proverb--,he that can not do    
better1 let him turn monk--is not       
unknown at ,mexico4 ,with the increase  
of liberty the number of nuns has       
diminished1 as violence can no longer be
 used in getting a girl into a convent4 
,for all these reasons the number of the
 religios has rapidly diminished1 while 
the wealth and efficiency of the ,church
 has increased4  ,having spoken of the  
bishops1 the lords spiritual of ,mexico1
 and the controlling influence they     
exercise over a feeble government1 we   
come next to the second class of        
spiritual masters of the country--the   
heads of orders1 the provincials1 and   
the heads of religious houses4 ,these   
two classes of dignitaries are usually  
elected for their known severity of     
discipline1 either by the procurement of
 the bishop1 or through fanaticism of   
the monks or nuns1 who1 having          
voluntarily made themselves convicts and

 prisoners for life1 now undertake to   
add to their self-afflicted             
mortification by choosing for their head
 a superior the most hateful of their   
number4 ,the novice is taught that the  
greatest favor with ,heaven is to be    
obtained by implicit obedience under    
most trying circumstances1 and the more 
cruel the despotism they unmurmuringly  
submit to1 the greater will be the      
accumulation of good works4 ,but cursed 
to the lowest depths of ,purgatory is   
that recluse who dares to murmur even in
 his inmost thoughts2 and if he so far  
forgets his duty as to murmur aloud1    
then all the powers of the ,church are  
brought to crush his insubordination4   
,we have thus followed spiritual        
despotism through its various stages1   
from the ,pope to the bishops2 from the 
bishops to the provincials of religious 
orders2 and then down to superiors of a 
community of half a dozen monks or nuns1
 by whom immorality is pardonable1 but  
who regard disobedience or              

insubordination in the slightest        
particular like the sin of witchcraft   
and idolatry4 ,such is the perfect      
organization of the papacy in all its   
parts1 which1 acting as one great       
secret1 political1 social1 and religious
 association1 labors continually to     
concentrate the riches of the nations at
 ,rome as a common centre4  ,there is a 
peculiar feature in the ,catholic       
,church in ,mexico unknown in other     
,catholic countries3 it is the          
preponderance of the regular clergy     
7monks7 over the secular clergy4 ,this  
is owing to ,cortez1 who wrote to the   
,emperor ,charles ,v4 to send him       
regulars1 for the conversion of the     
,indians1 instead of seculars1 assigning
 as a reason for this request that the  
latter display extravagant luxury1 leave
 great wealth to their natural children1
 and give great scandal to the          
newly-converted ,indians4 ,hence more   
than one half of the ,mexican clergy are
 monks1 and wear the cowl2 for at the   

time of the census of #agic1 as we have 
seen1 there were in the city of ,mexico 
#afdf monks1 besides lay brothers1      
against #eej secular priests1 while in  
the fifteen convents for nuns there were
 #ibc of these female monks4            
,,character ,,of ,,the ,,different      
,,orders4  ,the reader has already      
become quite familiar with the          
,franciscan fathers and their vows of   
poverty and self-mortification1 and     
their skill at playing for gold ounces4 
,they have pretty well maintained that  
reputation since the time of ,friar     
,thomas ,gage4 ,but there are some      
honorable exceptions to this rule1      
though few and far between4 ,we have    
already noticed how they were favored by
 ,cortez1 and the result has been that  
they are the richest fraternity in the  
republic4 ,these holy men of the        
,angelic ,order of ,saint ,francis have 
lately discovered a new source of wealth
 in renting their large central court to
 a ,frenchman1 who occupies it with the 

best garden of plants in ,mexico2 and as
 the convent occupies nearly a whole    
square in the central part of the city1 
they have pierced the convent walls1 and
 rented out shops upon the business     
streets1 while the soldiers of ,santa   
,anna occupy the vacant cloisters of the
 convent4 ,in this happy family1 with   
all the immense wealth of the           
establishment1 the donados1 and those   
monks who are so poor as to have no     
friends1 find but a miserable           
subsistence4  ,of the ,dominicans ,i    
have already spoken in connection with  
the ,inquisition4 ,in their yard is the 
flag-stone which was used by them in    
offering human sacrifice before the     
,revolution4 ,there it is kept as a     
relic and symbol of the power once      
enjoyed by the ,church4 ,there is yet a 
lingering hope that there may be        
restored to these brethren the power of 
roasting alive human beings4 ,in        
speaking of depravity of morals1 it is  
hard to say which of the fraternities   

has reached the lowest level1 though    
common consent concedes the palm to the 
,dominicans4  ,the name of the          
,carmelites carries us back to the time 
of the ,crusades2 but they are better   
known in ,mexico as the former          
proprietors of the ,desierto1 which     
,thomas ,gage so touchingly describes4  
,their habitual practice of self-denial 
and mortification1 in appearance1 while 
rioting on the luxuries that devotees   
lavished upon them1 has not been        
forgotten4 ,these holy brothers had a   
hand in the ,inquisition as well as the 
,dominicans4 ,they were a set of scamps 
set to watch the purity of other men's  
lives1 while they themselves lived a    
life of habitual profligacy4 ,the ruins 
of their old convent1 the ,desierto1 is 
still one of the most attractive spots  
about the city4 ,as the traveler wanders
 among its ruined walls1 he will find in
 the subterraneous cells ring-bolts     
fastened in the walls1 where poor       
prisoners for their faith endured       

something more than self-mortification4 
,the monks of ,santiago1 ,san ,augustin1
 and the ,capuchins have all fine       
convents1 and are rich2 but the monks of
 ,saint ,james are the most inveterate  
beggars4  ,the monks of ,san ,fernando  
enjoy an enviable reputation compared   
with the spotted sheep ,i have just been
 considering4 ,they are late comers1 and
 have not learned all the ways of       
wickedness of the older orders4 ,next   
come the ,brethren of the ,profession1  
of whom it is pleasant to speak1 after  
saying so many hard things of their     
neighbors4 ,they stand so high as men of
 character and learning1 that ,i am     
tempted to tell their story on hearsay1 
for want of better authority4 ,they were
 once ,jesuits1 but when the royal      
cebula of ,carlos ,,iii4 came for their 
expulsion1 these fathers had sustained  
so good a character for charity and     
usefulness that they were allowed to    
return1 on condition of renouncing the  
name and peculiarities of that order4 ,i

 am inclined to believe this strange    
story to be substantially true1 for     
clearly they are of the ,jesuits1 and   
yet they are not ,jesuits4 ,the         
reputation which they enjoyed in #agfg  
they still retain1 and not only command 
the respect of all classes of society in
 ,mexico1 but their chapel is the       
fashionable church of the city1 where   
genteel people resort to say their      
prayers4  ,the ,brethren of the ,holy   
,places of ,jerusalem--the ,hieronomite 
monks1 are not numerous1 and are known  
in the markets as lenders of money1 with
 the interest of which they support     
themselves and the poor saints of       
,jerusalem2 that is1 a portion of those 
lazy1 greasy1 fighting ,latin monks at  
,jerusalem1 that have been one of the   
causes of the present war in ,europe4   
,the ,hospitalers of ,saint ,john       
7,juanos7 are better known for their    
exploits in the time of the ,crusaders  
than for any thing they have done in    
,mexico4  ,it would be a thrice-told    

tale to repeat the story of the         
,jesuits2 the world knows that too well 
already4 ,the details of their          
proceedings in ,mexico till the time of 
their expulsion have been too often     
written by their enemies4 ,their great  
prosperity and their great wealth made  
them the envy of the other orders1 as   
corrupt and depraved as themselves1 but 
not so dangerous1 because they had      
reached that point at which depravity   
ceases to contaminate4 ,dirty1 greasy   
monks could not endure an order that    
wore the garb of gentlemen1 and were in 
favor with the aristocracy1 while they  
themselves were despised4  ,this envy   
was all-powerful with them1 and led1 for
 a time1 to the laying aside of their   
own private bickerings1 and uniting in  
the crusade against the common enemy1   
the ,jesuits1 and acting in harmony with
 the political power4   ,,nunneries4    
,the ,church has always made much of the
 nuns4 ,it has ever been the custom of  
the priesthood to endeavor to throw a   

veil of romance over the very unromantic
 way of life followed by females who    
have shut themselves up for life in a   
place hardly equal to a second-class    
state-prison4 ,woman has an important   
place which ,god has assigned her in the
 world2 but when she separates herself  
from the family circle1 and elbows her  
way to the rostrum1 where1 with a       
semi-masculine attire1 and with a voice 
not intended for oratory1 she harangues 
a tittering crowd upon the rights of    
women to perform the duties of men2 or  
goes to the opposite extreme1 and shuts 
herself up within high stone walls to   
avoid the society of the other sex1 she 
equally sins against her own nature1 and
 not only brings misery upon herself1   
but inflicts upon society the evils of a
 pernicious example1 and furnishes a    
theme for all kinds of scandal4  ,proud 
families who have portionless daughters2
 relatives who desire to get rid of     
heirs to coveted estates2 convents in   
want of funds and endowments1#fh or a   

pretty victim for the public            
entertainment on taking the veil2       
friends who have unmarriageable women on
 their hands2 and romantic young misses1
 ambitious of playing the queen for a   
day at the cost of being a prisoner for 
life1 have all contributed to populate  
the fifteen nunneries of the city of    
,mexico4 ,in the flourishing times of   
the ,inquisition1 this business of      
inveigling choice victims into convents 
was more profitable1 for then murmuring 
could be crushed into silence1 and      
parents dreaded to oppose the wretched  
pimps of superstition who came to       
inveigle their daughters into convents4 
,,nunneries ,,and ,,prisons4  ,the      
,quaker prison of ,philadelphia is a    
paradise compared with such a place as  
this4 ,if the reader has ever placed his
 eye at the keeper's eye-hole in that   
prison1 he must have seen in many a cell
 a cheerful face1 and the appearance of 
as much comfort as is compatible with an
 imprisoned condition2 for ministering  

angels have been there--mothers in      
,israel1 who have torn themselves from  
their domestic duties for a little time 
to minister consolation to the very     
criminals in prison2 and1 now that the  
prison-door has separated the poor      
wretch forever from society1 whose laws 
have been outraged1 she1 by her kindness
 and teaching1 has led the convict to   
look to ,heaven with a hope of          
forgiveness1 and daily to pray for those
 he has injured1 while he reads in the  
holy book which she gave him1 that a    
repenting thief accompanied the ,son of 
,god to ,paradise4  ,let us turn from   
such an unpoetical scene as this1 which 
that cheerful prison presents1 to the   
convent of ,santa ,teresa1 the most     
celebrated of all the ten or fifteen    
nunneries now in operation about the    
city of ,mexico4 ,in a cold1 damp1      
comfortless cell1 kneeling upon the     
pavement1 we may see a delicate woman   
mechanically repeating her daily-imposed
 penance of ,latin prayers1 before the  

image of a favorite saint and a basin of
 holy water4 ,this self-regulating1     
automaton praying machine1 as she counts
 off the number of allotted prayers by  
the number of beads upon her rosary1    
beats into her bosom the sharp edge of  
an iron cross that rests within her     
shirt of sacking-cloth1 until1 nature   
and her task exhausted1 she throws      
herself down upon a wooden bed1 so      
ingeniously arranged as to make sleep   
intolerable4#fi ,this poor victim of    
self-inflicted daily torture1 half      
crazed from insufficient food1 and      
sleep1 and clothing1 has endured all    
this misery to accumulate a stock of    
good works for the use of less          
meritorious sinners1 besides the amount 
necessary to carry herself to heaven2   
for penance1 and not repentance1 is this
 poor pagan's password for salvation4   
,the old ,quakeress is not a fashionable
 saint1 for she never dreamed of this   
huxter business in spiritual affairs4   
,out of the overflowing goodness of her 

heart1 she had tried to lighten the     
miseries of life in her own humble and  
quiet way1 and found her happiness in   
seeing all about her made comfortable4  
,the money that others expended in      
buying masses for the repose of their   
own souls and those of their relatives  
after death1 she expended in ministering
 to soul and body in this world1 leaving
 to ,god above the affairs of departed  
spirits1 to deal with them according to 
,his mercy4 ,she never presumed to add  
to the torments of this life1 or        
undertook to lighten the torments of the
 departed4 ,her duties lay all in this  
world1 and when her labors were ended1  
she quietly lay down in death1 leaving  
her future condition to ,god4 ,she never
 would pierce her bosom with an iron    
cross1 though it had often been pierced 
by the trials of life4 ,she has seen    
enough of real poverty and              
mortification1 but never dreamed of such
 a thing as poverty and mortification   
self-imposed1 by wearing upon her flesh 

a garment of sacking-cloth1 or the      
ingenious invention of a bed so         
contrived as to deprive herself of      
wholesome sleep4 ,images and holy water 
occupy no place in her creed1 though    
soap and water are almost too prominent4
 ,she did her good deeds from a sense of
 duty which she owed to her kind1 and   
from the pleasure that it gave her to   
relieve misery while discharging the    
ordinary duties of life1 and never      
dreamed of the sweet odor her good works
 left behind her--an odor which followed
 her to heaven--an odor more acceptable 
to the ,almighty than all the endowments
 she might have left to pay for masses  
for the repose of her soul4             
,,self-,,castigation4  ,there is so much
 that is monotonous in talking over the 
details of affairs of the different     
orders of these female monks1 from the  
,sister of ,guadalupe to the ,sisterhood
 of ,mercy1 that it is as well to       
consider them as one1 as divers         
households of single women1 who1 to win 

extraordinary favor of ,god1 had        
separated themselves from their         
families1 and devoted their lives1 some 
to repeating prayers and acts of        
self-mortification1 some to attending at
 the hospitals on the sick or the blind1
 the idiotic1 the deformed1 the deaf and
 the dumb1 others to educating young    
ladies according to their peculiar      
notions of education1 others again      
consecrating themselves to pauperism1   
and living upon charity2 and when the   
daily supply of alms has failed1 these  
self-made poor sisters collect together1
 and there wait and pray1 and ring their
 bell1 until some benevolent individual 
shall chance to hear the well-known     
signal1 and come and relieve them4      
,such is the system of religion of all  
countries which bear the ,christian     
name1 but where freedom does not exist1 
and where liberty can not thrive4 ,there
 is a trifling difference in its phases 
as exhibited in the ,greek and the      
,latin ,churches1 but the difference is 

too slight for us outsiders to notice4  
,in ,mexico it exists in its most       
unadulterated state1 less contaminated  
than elsewhere with ,protestantism or   
other foreign substances4   ,,penances4 
,the old farce of self-castigation is   
here still enacted1 as it has been for  
three hundred years1 but in the dark1 of
 course2 and blood1 or some substitute  
for it1 is heard to fall upon the floor 
by the few selected witnesses2#gj but a 
party of boys1 report says1 being       
somewhat skeptical about the quality of 
this blood1 concealed themselves in the 
church1 and when the pious farce began1 
took so active a part in the sport upon 
the naked backs of the fathers1 as to   
inflict bodily injury1 and break up the 
bloody entertainment4 ,still            
,protestantism has been felt in ,mexico1
 if not embraced1 and the common people 
look back to the happy time when the    
soldiers of their ,protestant conquerors
 made money plenty among them1 and when 
even-handed justice was dealt out alike 

to rich and poor1 high and low4 ,though 
the foreigners laughed at the fables of 
the priests and ridiculed the monks1    
they yet were honest in their dealings  
with the people instead of taking by    
violence4 ,as there are no people so    
besotted that they do not admire courage
 and honesty1 so the ,paisano looks upon
 the heretic as a man of a superior race
 to himself4        #fh ,i have selected
 three cases of taking the veil1 to     
which ,i       have added captions1     
which lift the veil from this practice  
of       consecrating young girls to    
superstitions uses4 ,they are           
extracted from ,madame ,calderon's ,life
 in ,mexico4        ,taking the ,veil4  
,i followed the guide back into the     
sacristy of the convent1       where the
 future nun was seated beside her       
grandmother1 in the       midst of her  
friends and relations1 about thirty in  
all4        ,she was arrayed in pale    
blue satin1 with diamonds1 pearls1 and a
       crown of flowers4 ,she was       

literally smothered in blonde and       
jewels2 and her face was flushed1 as    
well it might be1 for she       had     
passed the day in taking leave of her   
friends at a fete they       had given  
her1 and had then1 according to custom1 
been paraded       through the town in  
all her finery4 ,and now her last hour  
was at       hand4 ,when ,i came in1 she
 rose and embraced me with as much      
cordiality as if we had known each other
 for years4 ,beside her       sat the   
,madrina1 also in white satin and       
jewels2 all the       relations being   
likewise decked out in their finest     
array4 ,the       nun kept laughing     
every now and then in the most unnatural
 and       hysterical manner1 as ,i     
thought1 apparently to impress us with  
the conviction of her perfect happiness2
 for it is a great point       of honor 
among girls similarly situated to look  
as cheerful and       gay as            
possible--the same feeling1 though in a 
different degree1       which induces   

the gallant highwayman to jest in the   
presence of       the multitude when the
 hangman's cord is within an inch of his
       neck2 the same which makes a     
gallant general1 whose life is          
forfeited1 command his men to fire on   
him2 the same which makes       the     
,hindoo widow mount the funeral pile    
without a tear in her eye       or a    
sigh on her lips4 ,if the robber were to
 be strangled in the       corner of his
 dungeon--if the general were to be put 
to death       privately in his own     
apartment--if the widow were to be      
burned       quietly on her own         
hearth--if the nun were to be secretly  
smuggled in at the convent gate like a  
bale of contraband goods1       we might
 hear another tale4 ,this girl was very 
young1 but by no       means pretty2 on 
the contrary1 rather disgraciee par la  
nature2       and perhaps a knowledge of
 her own want of attractions may have   
caused the world to have few charms for 
her4        ,suddenly the curtain was   

withdrawn1 and the picturesque beauty   
of the scene within baffles all         
description4 ,beside the altar1         
which was in a blaze of light1 was a    
perfect mass of crimson and       gold  
drapery2 the walls1 the antique chairs1 
the table before       which the priests
 sat1 all hung with the same splendid   
material4       ,the ,bishop wore his   
superb mitre1 and robes of crimson and  
gold1       the attendant priests also  
glittering in crimson and gold          
embroidery4        ,in contrast to      
these1 five-and-twenty figures1 entirely
 robed in       black from head to foot1
 were ranged on each side of the room1  
prostrate1 their faces touching the     
ground1 and in their hands       immense
 lighted tapers4 ,on the foreground was 
spread a purple       carpet bordered   
round with a garland of freshly-gathered
 flowers1       roses1 and carnations1  
and heliotrope1 the only things that    
looked real and living in the whole     
scene2 and in the middle of       this  

knelt the novice1 still arrayed in her  
blue satin1 white       lace veil and   
jewels1 and also with a great lighted   
taper in her       hand4        ,the    
black nuns then rose and sang a hymn1   
every now and then       falling on     
their faces and touching the floor with 
their       foreheads4 ,the whole looked
 like an incantation1 or a scene in     
,robert le ,diable4 ,the novice was then
 raised from the ground and       led to
 the feet of the ,bishop1 who examined  
her as to her       vocation1 and gave  
her his blessing1 and once more the     
black       curtain fell between us and 
them4        ,in the second act she was 
lying prostrate on the floor1           
disrobed of her profane dress1 and      
covered over with a black       cloth1  
while the black figures kneeling around 
her chanted a       hymn4 ,she was now  
dead to the world4 ,the sunbeams had    
faded away       as if they would not   
look upon the scene1 and all the light  
was       concentrated in one great mass

 upon the convent group4        ,again  
she was raised4 ,all the blood had      
rushed into her face1       and her     
attempt to smile was truly painful4 ,she
 then knelt down       before the       
,bishop1 and received the benediction1  
with the sign of       the cross1 from a
 white hand with the pastoral ring4 ,she
 then       went round alone to embrace 
all the dark phantoms as they stood     
motionless1 and as each dark shadow     
clasped her in its arms1 it       seemed
 like the dead welcoming a new arrival  
to the shades4        ,but ,i forget the
 sermon1 which was delivered by a fat   
priest1       who elbowed his way with  
some difficulty through the crowd to the
       grating1 panting and in a        
prodigious heat1 and ensconced himself  
in a great armchair close beside us4 ,he
 assured her that she 'had       chosen 
the good part1 which could not be taken 
away from her2'       that she was now  
one of the elect1 'chosen from among the
       wickedness and dangers of the    

world'--7picked out like a plum         
from a pie74 ,he mentioned with pity and
 contempt those who were       'yet     
struggling in the great ,babylon1' and  
compared their       miserable fate with
 hers1 the ,bride of ,christ1 who1 after
       suffering a few privations here  
during a short term of years1           
should be received at once into a       
kingdom of glory4 ,the whole            
discourse was well calculated to rally  
her fainting spirits1 if       fainting 
they were1 and to inspire us with a     
great disgust for       ourselves4      
,when the sermon was concluded the music
 again struck up2 the       heroine of  
the day came forward1 and stood before  
the grating to       take her last look 
of this wicked world4 ,down fell the    
black       curtain4 ,up rose the       
relations1 and ,i accompanied them into 
the       sacristy4 ,here they coolly   
lighted their cigars1 and very          
philosophically discoursed upon the     
exceeding good fortune of the           

new-made nun1 and on her evident delight
 and satisfaction with       her own    
situation4 ,as we did not follow her    
behind the scenes1 ,i       could not   
give my opinion on this point4 ,shortly 
after1 one of       the gentlemen       
civilly led me to my carriage1 and so it
       was4        ,a ,victim for her   
,musical ,powers4        ,in the convent
 of the ,incarnation ,i saw another girl
 sacrificed       in a similar manner4  
,she was received there without a dowry1
 on       account of the exceeding      
fineness of her voice4 ,she little      
thought what a fatal gift it would prove
 to her4 ,the most cruel       part of  
all was that1 wishing to display her    
fine voice to the       public1 they    
made her sing a hymn alone1 on her      
knees1 her arms       extended in the   
form of a cross1 before all the immense 
crowd3       ,ancilla ,christi sum1 ,the
 bride of ,christ ,i am4 ,she was a     
good-looking girl1 fat and comely1 who  
would probably have led a               

comfortable life in the world1 for which
 she seemed well fitted2       most     
likely without one touch of romance or  
enthusiasm in her       composition2    
but1 having the unfortunate honor of    
being niece to       two chanoines1 she 
was thus honorably provided for without 
expense in her nineteenth year4 ,as     
might be expected1 her voice            
faltered1 and instead of singing1 she   
seemed inclined to cry out4       ,each 
note came slowly1 heavily1 tremblingly2 
and at last she       nearly fell       
forward exhausted1 when two of the      
sisters caught and       supported her4 
,a ,victim of her ,confessor4           
,she was in purple velvet1 with diamonds
 and pearls1 and a crown       of       
flowers2 the corsage of her gown was    
entirely covered with       little bows 
of ribbon of divers colors1 which her   
friends had       given her1 each adding
 one1 like stones thrown on a cairn in  
memory of the departed4 ,she had also   
short sleeves and white       satin     

shoes4        ,being very handsome1 with
 fine black eyes1 good teeth1 and fresh 
color1 and1 above all1 with the beauty  
of youth1 for she is but       eighteen1
 she was not disfigured by even this    
overloaded dress4       ,her mother1 on 
the contrary1 who was to act the part of
 ,madrina1       who wore a dress       
facsimile1 and who was pale and sad1 her
 eyes       almost extinguished with    
weeping1 looked like a picture of       
,misery       in a ball-dress4 ,in the  
adjoining room long tables were laid    
out1       on which servants were       
placing refreshments for the fete about 
to       be given on this joyous        
occasion4 ,i felt somewhat shocked1 and 
inclined to say with ,paul ,pry1 ',hope 
,i don't intrude4'        ----1 however1
 was furious at the whole affair1 which 
he said       was entirely against the  
mother's consent1 though that of the    
father had been obtained2 and pointed   
out to me the confessor       whose     
influence had brought it about4 ,the    

girl herself was now       very pale1   
but evidently resolved to conceal her   
agitation1 and       the mother seemed  
as if she could shed no more            
tears--quite       exhausted with       
weeping4 ,as the hour for the ceremony  
drew near1       the whole party became 
more grave and sad1 all but the priests1
       who were smiling and talking     
together in groups4 ,the girl was not   
still a moment4 ,she kept walking       
hastily through the house1       taking 
leave of the servants1 and naming1      
probably1 her last       wishes about   
every thing4 ,she was followed by her   
younger       sisters1 all in tears4    
,but it struck six1 and the priests     
intimated that it was time to           
move4 ,she and her mother went down     
stairs alone1 and entered the           
carriage which was to drive them through
 all the principal       streets1 to    
show the nun to the public1 according to
 custom1 and       to let them take     
their last look1 they of her and she of 

them4 ,as       they got in1 we all     
crowded to the balconies to see her take
       leave of her house1 her aunts    
saying1 ',yes1 child1 despidete       de
 tu casa1 take leave of your house1 for 
you will never see       it again6'     
,then came sobs from the sisters2 and   
many of the       gentlemen1 ashamed of 
their emotion1 hastily quitted the room4
 ,i       hope1 for the sake of         
humanity1 ,i did not rightly interpret  
the       look of constrained anguish   
which the poor girl threw from the      
window of the carriage at the home of   
her childhood4        ,at stated        
periods1 indeed1 the mother may hear her
 daughter's       voice speaking to her 
as from the depths of the tomb1 but she 
may       never fold her in her arms1   
never more share in her joys or in      
her sorrows1 or nurse her in sickness2  
and when her own last hour              
arrives1 though but a few streets divide
 them1 she may not give       her dying 
blessing to the child who has been for  

so many years       the pride of her    
eyes and heart4        ,they gave me an 
excellent place1 quite close to the     
grating1       beside the ,countess de  
,s----o2 that is to say1 a place to     
kneel       on4 ,a great bustle and much
 preparation seemed to be going on      
within the convent1 and veiled figures  
were flitting about1       whispering1  
arranging1 c4 ,sometimes a skinny old   
dame would come       close to the      
grating1 and1 lifting up her veil1      
bestow upon the       pensive public a  
generous view of a very haughty and very
       wrinkled visage of some seventy  
years standing1 and beckon into         
the church for the major-domo of the    
convent 7an excellent and               
profitable situation1 by the way71 or   
for padre this or that4       ,some of  
the holy ladies recognized and spoke to 
me through the       grating4           
,but1 at the discharge of fireworks     
outside the church1 the       curtain   
was dropped1 for this was the signal    

that the nun and her       mother had   
arrived4 ,an opening was made in the    
crowd as they       passed into the     
church1 and the girl1 kneeling down1 was
       questioned by the bishop1 but ,i 
could not make out the dialogue1        
which was carried on in a low voice4    
,she then passed into the       convent 
by a side door1 and her mother1 quite   
exhausted and       nearly in hysterics1
 was supported through the crowd to a   
place       beside us1 in front of the  
grating4 ,the music struck up2 the      
curtain was again drawn aside4 ,the     
scene was as striking here as       in  
the convent of the ,santa ,teresa1 but  
not so lugubrious4 ,the       nuns1 all 
ranged around1 and carrying lighted     
tapers in their       hands1 were       
dressed in mantles of bright blue1 with 
a gold plate       on the left shoulder4
 ,their faces1 however1 were covered    
with       deep black veils4 ,the girl1 
kneeling in front1 and also bearing a   
heavy lighted taper1 looked beautiful1  

with her dark hair and       rich dress1
 and the long black lashes resting on   
her glowing       face4 ,the churchmen  
near the illuminated and                
magnificently-decked       altar formed1
 as usual1 a brilliant background to the
 picture4       ,the ceremony was the   
same as on the former occasion1 but     
there       was no sermon4        ,the  
most terrible thing to witness was the  
last1 straining1       anxious look     
which the mother gave her daughter      
through the       grating4 ,she had seen
 her child pressed to the arms of       
strangers       and welcomed to her new 
home4 ,she was no longer hers4 ,all the 
sweet ties of nature had been rudely    
severed1 and she had been       forced  
to consign her1 in the very bloom of    
youth and beauty1 at       the very age 
in which she most required a mother's   
care1 and when       she had but just   
fulfilled the promise of her childhood1 
to a       living tomb4 ,still1 as long 
as the curtain had not fallen1 she      

could gaze upon her as upon one on whom1
 though dead1 the       coffin-lid is   
not yet closed4        ,but while the   
new-made nun was in a blaze of light and
 distinct       on the foreground1 so   
that we could mark each varying         
expression       of her face1 the crowd 
in the church1 and the comparative      
faintness of the light1 probably made it
 difficult for her to       distinguish 
her mother2 for1 knowing that the end   
was at hand1       she looked anxiously 
and hurriedly into the church1 without  
seeming able to fix her eyes on any     
particular object1 while her            
mother seemed as if her eyes were       
glazed1 so intensely were they          
fixed upon her daughter4                
,suddenly1 and without any preparation1 
down fell the black       curtain like a
 pall1 and the sobs and tears of the    
family broke       forth4 ,one beautiful
 little child was carried out almost in 
fits4       ,water was brought to the   
poor mother2 and at last1 making our way

       with difficulty through the dense
 crowd1 we got into the       sacristy4 
',i declare1' said the ,countess ---- to
 me1 wiping her       eyes1 'it is worse
 than a marriage6' ,i expressed my      
horror at the       sacrifice of a girl 
so young that she could not possibly    
have       known her own mind4 ,almost  
all the ladies agreed with me1          
especially all who had daughters1 but   
many of the old gentlemen       were of 
a different opinion4 ,the young men were
 decidedly of my       way of thinking1 
but many young girls who were conversing
       together seemed rather to envy   
their friend1 who had looked so         
pretty and graceful1 and 'so happy1' and
 whose dress 'suited her       so well1'
 and to have no objection to 'go and do 
likewise4'        #fi ,the ,santa       
,teresa1 however1 has few ornaments4 ,it
 is not       nearly so large as the    
,encarnacion1 and admits but            
twenty-one nuns4 ,at present there are1 
besides these1 but three       novices4 

,its very atmosphere seems holy1 and its
 scrupulous and       excessive         
cleanness makes all profane dwellings   
seem dirty by       comparison4 ,we were
 accompanied by a bishop1 ,senor        
,madrid1 the       same who assisted at 
the archbishop's consecration--a        
good-looking man1 young and tall1 and   
very splendidly dressed4       ,his     
robes were of purple satin1 covered with
 fine point-lace1       with a large    
cross of diamonds and amethysts4 ,he    
also wore a       cloak of very fine    
purple cloth1 lined with crimson velvet1
       crimson stockings1 and an immense
 amethyst ring4        ,when he came in 
we found that the nuns had permission to
 put up       their veils1 rarely       
allowed in this order in the presence of
       strangers4 ,they have a small    
garden and fountain1 plenty of          
flowers1 and some fruit2 but all is on a
 smaller scale1 and       sadder than in
 the convent of the ,incarnation4 ,the  
refectory is a       large room1 with a 

long1 narrow table running all round    
it--a       plain deal table1 with      
wooden benches2 before the place of each
       nun1 an earthen bowl1 an earthen 
cup with an apple in it1 a       wooden 
plate1 and a wooden spoon2 at the top of
 the table a       grinning skull1 to   
remind them that even these indulgences 
they       shall not long enjoy4        
,in one corner of the room is a         
reading-desk1 a sort of elevated        
pulpit1 where one reads aloud from some 
holy book while the       others discuss
 their simple fare4 ,they showed us a   
crown of       thorns1 which1 on certain
 days1 is worn by one of their number by
       way of penance4 ,it is made of   
iron1 so that the nails1 entering       
inward1 run into the head1 and make it  
bleed4 ,while she wears       this on   
her head1 a sort of wooden bit is put   
into her mouth1 and       she lies      
prostrate on her face till dinner is    
ended2 and while in       this condition
 her food is given her1 of which she    

eats as much       as she can1 which    
probably is none4        ,we visited the
 different cells1 and were horror-struck
 at the       self-inflicted tortures4  
,each bed consists of a wooden plank    
raised in the middle1 and1 on days of   
penitence1 crossed by       wooden bars4
 ,the pillow is wooden1 with a cross    
lying on it1       which they hold in   
their hands when they lie down4 ,the nun
 lies       on this penitential couch1  
embracing the cross1 and her feet       
hanging out1 as the bed is made too     
short for her1 upon       principle4    
,round her waist she occasionally wears 
a band with       iron points turning   
inward2 on her breast a cross with      
nails1 of       which the points enter  
the flesh1 of the truth of which ,i had 
melancholy ocular demonstration4 ,then1 
after having scourged       herself with
 a whip covered with iron nails1 she    
lies down for a       few hours on the  
wooden bars1 and rises at four o'clock4 
,all       these instruments of         

discipline1 which each nun keeps in a   
little       box beside her bed1 look as
 if their fitting place would be in     
the dungeons of the ,inquisition4 ,they 
made me try their bed       and board1  
which ,i told them would give me a very 
decided       taste for early rising4   
,yet they all seem as cheerful as       
possible1 though it must be             
confessed that many of them look pale   
and unhealthy4 ,it is said       that1  
when they are strong enough to stand    
this mode of life1       they live very 
long2 but it frequently happens that    
girls who       come into this convent  
are obliged to leave it from sickness   
long       before the expiration of     
their novitiate4 ,i met with the girl   
whom ,i had seen take the veil1 and can 
not say that she looked       either    
well or cheerful1 though she assured me 
that 'of course1       in doing the will
 of ,god1' she was both4 ,there was not 
much       beauty among them generally1 
though one or two had remains of        

great loveliness4 ,my friend1 the ,madre
 ,a----1 is handsomer on a       closer 
view than ,i had supposed her1 and seems
 an especial       favorite with old and
 young4 ,but there was one whose face   
must       have been strikingly         
beautiful4 ,she was as pale as marble1  
and1       though still young1 seemed in
 very delicate health2 but her eyes     
and eyebrows were as black as jet2 the  
eyes so large and soft1       the       
eyebrows two penciled arches1 and her   
smiles so resigned and       sweet1     
would have made her the loveliest model 
imaginable for a       ,madonna4        
,again1 as in the ,incarnation1 they had
 taken the trouble to       prepare an  
elegant supper for us4 ,the bishop took 
his place in an       antique velvet    
chair2 the ,senora ---- and ,i were     
placed on each       side of him4 ,the  
room was very well lighted1 and there   
was as       great a profusion of       
custards1 jellies1 and ices as if we had
       been supping at the most profane 

cafe4 ,the nuns did not sit       down1 
but walked about1 pressing us to eat1   
the bishop now and       then giving    
them cakes1 with permission to eat them1
 which they       received laughing4    
,after supper a small harp was brought  
in1 which had been sent       for by the
 bishop's permission4 ,it was terribly  
out of tune1 with       half the strings
 broken2 but we were determined to      
grudge no       trouble in putting it in
 order1 and giving these poor recluses  
what they considered so great a         
gratification4 ,we got it into          
some sort of condition at last1 and when
 they heard it played1       they were  
vehement in their expressions of        
delight4 ,the ,senora       ----1 who   
has a charming voice1 afterward sang to 
them1 the       bishop being very       
indulgent1 and permitting us to select  
whatever       songs we chose1 so that1 
when rather a profane canticle1 ,the    
,virgin of the ,pillar 7,la ,virgin del 
,pilar71 was sung1 he very       kindly 

turned a deaf ear to it1 and seemed     
busily engaged in       conversation    
with an old madre till it was all over4 
,in these robes they are buried2 and one
 would think that if any       human    
being can ever leave this world without 
a feeling of       regret1 it must be a 
nun of the ,santa ,teresa1 when1 her    
privations in this world ended1 she lays
 down her blameless life1       and     
joins the pious sisterhood who have gone
 before her2 dying       where she has  
lived1 surrounded by her companions1 her
 last hours       soothed by their      
prayers and tears1 sure of their vigils 
for the       repose of her soul1 and1  
above all1 sure that neither pleasure   
nor vanity will ever obliterate her     
remembrance from their                  
hearts4--,life in ,mexico1 vol4 ii4 p4  
#i4        #gj ,all ,mexicans at        
present1 men and women1 are engaged in  
what       are called the desagravios1 a
 public penance performed at this       
season in the churches during           

thirty-five days4 ,the women attend     
church in the morning1 no men being     
permitted to enter1 and the       men in
 the evening1 when women are not        
admitted4 ,both rules are               
occasionally broken4 ,the penitence of  
the men is most severe1       their sins
 being no doubt proportionably greater  
than those of       the women2 though it
 is one of the few countries where they 
suffer for this1 or seem to act upon the
 principle1 that 'if all       men had  
their deserts1 who would escape         
whipping8'        ,to-day we attended   
the morning penitence at six o'clock1 in
 the       church of ,san ,francisco1   
the hardest part of which was their     
having to kneel for about ten minutes   
with their arms extended in       the   
form of a cross1 uttering groans1 a most
 painful position for       any length  
of time4 ,it was a profane thought1 but 
,i dare say so       many hundreds of   
beautifully-formed arms and hands were  
seldom       seen extended at the same  

moment before4 ,gloves not being worn in
       church1 and many of the women    
having short sleeves1 they were         
very much seen4        ,but the other   
night ,i was present at a much stranger 
scene1 at       the discipline performed
 by the men1 admission having been      
procured for us by certain means1       
private but powerful4                   
,accordingly1 when it was dark1         
enveloped from head to foot in          
large cloaks1 and without the slightest 
idea of what it was1 we       went on   
foot through the streets to the church  
of ,san ,agustin4       ,when we        
arrived1 a small side door apparently   
opened of itself1       and we entered1 
passing through long vaulted passages1  
and up       steep winding stairs1 till 
we found ourselves in a small railed    
gallery looking down directly upon the  
church4 ,the scene was       curious4   
,about one hundred and fifty men1       
enveloped in cloaks and       sarapes1  
their faces entirely concealed1 were    

assembled in the       body of the      
church4 ,a monk had just mounted the    
pulpit1 and the       church was dimly  
lighted1 except where he stood in bold  
relief1       with his gay robes and    
cowl thrown back1 giving a full view of 
his high1 bald forehead and expressive  
face4        ,his discourse was a rude  
but very forcible and eloquent          
description of the torments prepared in 
hell for impenitent       sinners4 ,the 
effect of the whole was very solemn4 ,it
 appeared       like a preparation for  
the execution of a multitude of         
condemned       criminals4 ,when the    
discourse was finished1 they all joined 
in       prayer with much fervor and    
enthusiasm1 beating their breasts and   
falling upon their faces4 ,then the monk
 stood up1 and in a very       distinct 
voice read several passages of          
,scripture descriptive of       the     
sufferings of ,christ4 ,the organ then  
struck up the       ,miserere1 and all  
of a sudden the church was plunged in   

profound darkness1 all but a sculptured 
representation of the                   
,crucifixion1 which seemed to hang in   
the air illuminated4 ,i felt            
rather frightened1 and would have been  
glad to leave the church1       but it  
would have been impossible in the       
darkness4 ,suddenly a       terrible    
voice in the dark cried1 ',my brothers6 
when ,christ was       fastened to the  
pillar by the ,jews1 he was scourged6'  
,at these       words the bright figure 
disappeared1 and the darkness became    
total4 ,suddenly we heard the sound of  
hundreds of scourges       descending   
upon the bare flesh4 ,i can not conceive
 any thing more       horrible4 ,before 
ten minutes had passed1 the sound became
       splashing from the blood that was
 flowing4        ,i have heard of these 
penitencies in ,italian churches1 and   
also       that half of those who go    
there do not really scourge themselves2 
but here1 where there is such perfect   
concealment1 there seems no       motive

 for deception4 ,incredible as it may   
seem1 this awful       penance          
continued1 without intermission1 for    
half an hour6 ,if       they scourged   
each other1 their energy might be less  
astonishing4        ,we could not leave 
the church1 but it was perfectly        
sickening2       and had ,i not been    
able to take hold of the ,senora ----'s 
hand1       and feel something human    
beside me1 ,i could have fancied myself 
transported into a congregation of evil 
spirits4 ,now and then1       but very  
seldom1 a suppressed groan was heard1   
and occasionally       the voice of the 
monk encouraging them by ejaculations1  
or by       short passages from         
,scripture4 ,sometimes the organ struck 
up1 and       the poor wretches2 in a   
faint voice1 tried to join in the       
,miserere4 ,the sound of the scourging  
is indescribable4 ,at the       end of  
half an hour a little bell was rung1 and
 the voice of the       monk was heard  
calling upon them to desist2 but such   

was their       enthusiasm1 that the    
horrible lashing continued louder and   
fiercer than ever4        ,in vain he   
entreated them not to kill themselves1  
and assured       them that heaven would
 be satisfied1 and that human nature    
could       not endure beyond a certain 
point4 ,no answer but the loud sound    
of the scourges1 which are many of them 
of iron1 with sharp       points that   
enter the flesh4 ,at length1 as if they 
were perfectly       exhausted1 the     
sound grew fainter1 and little by little
 ceased       altogether4 ,we then got  
up in the dark1 and with great          
difficulty       groped our way in the  
pitch darkness through the galleries and
       down the stairs till we reached  
the door1 and had the pleasure of       
feeling the fresh air again4 ,they say  
that the church floor is                
frequently covered with blood after one 
of these penances1 and       that a man 
died the other day in consequence of his
       wounds4--,life in ,mexico1 vol4  

ii4 p4 #bac4     ,,chapter ,,xxx4  ,the 
,necessity of large ,capitals in        
,mexico4--,the ,finances and            
,revenue4--,the impoverished ,creditors 
of the ,state4--,princely ,wealth of    
,individuals4   ,having spoken of the   
,church1 the great power which overawes 
the government1 it is also proper to    
mention the secondary powers3 the men of
 colossal fortune4 ,in a country like   
,mexico1 whose wealth arises from mines 
of silver1 these immense private        
fortunes are requisite to the successful
 development of its resources4 ,large   
capitals must be constantly hazarded on 
the single chance of striking a bonanza1
 in an adventure as uncertain as a game 
of monte4 ,the abandoned mine often     
turns out to be the treasury of an      
untold fortune to the man who was       
laughed at for attempting its           
restoration1 while the most promising   
adventure proves a total failure4 ,the  
temptations to these adventures are     
dazzling in the extreme4 ,the ambitious 

man forgets the shame and irretrievable 
ruin that follows a failure1 and looks  
only to the chances of winning a title  
of nobility and a house full of silver4 
,men who shun the gambling-table will   
adventure all on a mine1 and in a year  
or two they have passed from the memory 
of men1 for they have become poor4      
,again1 a man of slender means has      
become rich in the ,mexican sense1 which
 means a man of millions1 and then he is
 at once elevated by his admirers into  
that brilliant constellation which is   
the great bear of the ,mexican          
firmament4   ,,state ,,creditors4       
,still1 these powerful private          
individuals prevent the consolidation of
 any government1 whether republican or  
dictatorial1 and put far off that       
necessary evil1 the confiscation of the 
estates of the ,church4 ,if there is a  
,congress in session1 its members are   
influenced as our own are influenced4   
,they are swayed this way and that by   
private interests4 ,when ,congress is   

not in session1 they are constantly     
operating upon the treasury1 or1 rather1
 the minister of the treasury is diving 
about among them to raise the means to  
keep afloat from day to day4 ,they will 
not submit to their full share of       
taxation4 ,when they advance money on   
the pledge of some income1 it is on the 
most onerous terms1 so that at least one
 quarter of the revenue of ,mexico is   
used up in interest or usury4 ,long     
experience has reduced the business of  
shaving the revenue to a system4 ,the   
most common way to do this is to buy up 
some claim at twelve and a half cents on
 a dollar1 and then couple it at par    
with a loan of money on the assignment  
of some rent4 ,every thing is farmed    
out1 until at last1 two years ago1      
,escandon proposed to farm the whole    
foreign duties4  ,many a time have ,i   
sat down in the large ante-room of the  
treasury to look upon and study the     
characters of those who have come there 
to be disappointed1 when promises will  

no longer satisfy hunger4 ,one poor     
woman had got a new promise in #ahea1   
and three months' interest1 on money    
deposited with the ,consolado of ,vera  
,cruz1 and invested in #ahaj in building
 the great road of ,perote4 ,santa      
,anna1 on his return1 gave her a new    
order1 and she presented it to the      
minister with bright hopes1 when he gave
 her fifteen dollars--all he had in the 
treasury4 ,the best way to collect a    
debt at ,mexico is to convert it into a 
foreign debt1 if possible1 and then1 if 
there is a resident that stands high    
with his minister1 the matter meets with
 prompt attention4 ,he that can buy a   
foreign embassador at ,mexico has made a
 fortune4   ,,mexican ,,millionaires4   
,i have spoken of two rich men of       
,mexico1 the first ,count of ,regla1 and
 one who has succeeded to his mine4 ,as 
,i was standing on the ,paseo1 a lad    
passed driving a fine span of mules4    
,that is the ,count de ,galvez1 said my 
companion1 the son of the late ,count   

,perez ,galvez1 the lucky proprietor of 
the bonanza in the mine of ,la ,suz at  
,guanajuato4  ,but that bonanza has     
given out1 said ,i4  ,no matter2 this   
boy's inheritance is sometimes estimated
 at #i1jjj1jjj4 ,a snug capital with    
which to begin the world6  ,laborde1 the
 ,frenchman who projected and           
established the magnificent garden at   
,cuarnavaca1 and also built1 from his   
private fortune1 the great ,cathedral of
 ,toluca1 made and spent two princely   
fortunes in successful mining1 and at   
last ended his checkered career in      
poverty4 ,the ,countess ,ruhl1 the      
mother of young ,galvez1 and her brother
 the ,count ,ruhl1 are also fortunate   
miners4 ,the latter is now interested in
 the ,real del ,monte4 ,but the rich man
 of the ,republic is the ,marquis de    
,jaral1 in the small but rich mining    
department of ,guanajuato4 ,this man's  
wealth surpasses that of all the three  
patriarchs put together4 ,a few years   
ago1 the whole amount of his live-stock 

was set down by his administrador       
7overseer7 at three million head4 ,he   
then sent thirty thousand sheep#ga to   
market1 which yielded him from #b4ej to 
#c a head1 or from #ge1jjj to #ij1jjj   
annually4 ,the goats slaughtered on the 
estate amounted to about the same       
number1 and yielded about the same      
amount of revenue4 ,besides all this1   
there is his annual product of horses   
and cattle1 and corn and grain fields   
many miles in extent4 ,truly this       
,marquis of ,jaral is a large farmer4   
,but as ,i said of mining1 so ,i may    
also say that large capitals are        
necessary to carry on agriculture       
successfully in the vast elevated plains
 of the northern1 or1 rather1 interior  
departments1 for the whole value of the 
valley of ,jaral consists in an         
artificial lake1 which an ancestor of   
the present proprietor constructed      
before the ,revolution for the purpose  
of irrigation2 for1 without irrigation1 
his little kingdom would be without     

value4 ,i might speak of many other     
landed proprietors whose estates are    
princely1 but none are equal to ,jaral4 
,indeed1 all men of wealth possess      
landed estates4 ,it is the favorite     
investment for successful miners to     
purchase a few plantations1 each of a   
dozen leagues or so1 under cultivation4 
#ga ,,ward',s ,mexico1 vol4 ii4 p4 #dgj4
     ,,chapter ,,xxxi4  ,visit to       
,pachuca and ,real del ,monte4--,otumba 
and ,tulanzingo4--,the grand ,canal of  
,huehuetoca4--,the ,silver ,mines of    
,pachuca4--,hakal ,silver ,mines4--,real
 del ,monte ,mines4--,the               
,anglo-,mexican ,mining ,fever4--,my    
,equipment to descend a ,mine4--,the    
great ,steam-pump4--,descending the     
great ,shaft4--,galleries and ,veins of 
,ore4--,among the ,miners one thousand  
,feet under ,ground4--,the ,barrel      
,process of refining ,silver4--,another 
refining ,establishment4   ,an          
opposition line of stages upon the road 
that extends sixty miles from the city  

of ,mexico to the northern extremity of 
the valley has brought down the fare to 
#c4 ,it is a hard road to travel in the 
wet season1 and not a very interesting  
one at any time4 ,three miles of        
causeway across the salt marsh brought  
us to the church and village of our     
,lady of ,guadalupe ,hidalgo4 ,from this
 place we passed for several leagues    
along the barren tract that lies between
 the two salt-ponds of ,san ,cristobal  
and ,tezcuco1 and soon arrived at       
,tulanzingo1 where the great battle of  
the ,free-masons was fought1 and where  
eight poor fellows lost their lives in  
the bloody encounter4 ,this1 and the    
horrible battle of ,otumba1 which       
,cortez fought a little way east of this
 spot1 are memorable events in the      
history of ,mexico--more memorable than 
they deserve to have been4  ,as we rode 
along the eastern rim of the valley1 the
 sun was shining brightly on the western
 hill that inclosed it4 ,the opening    
made by the canal of ,huehuetoca was    

plain in sight4 ,to read about this     
canal and to derive an idea of it from  
books is to get an impression that here1
 at least1 the ,spaniards did a         
wonderful work4 ,but to look at it is to
 dissipate all such complimentary       
notions4 ,the engineer who planned it   
may have been a skillful man1 but the   
government that fettered his movements1 
like all ,spanish governments of those  
times1 consisted of a cross between     
fools and priests4 ,even those pious    
gamblers1 the ,franciscans1 had a finger
 in the business4 ,after absorbing1 for 
near a hundred years1 the revenue       
appropriated to completing the work1    
they abandoned it to the merchants of   
,mexico1 who finally finished it4 ,the  
pond that was to be drained by it1 the  
,zumpango1 was certainly an             
insignificant affair4 ,there was nothing
 farther of interest until we arrived at
 ,pachuca4  ,pachuca is the oldest      
mining district in ,mexico4 ,in its     
immediate vicinity are the most         

interesting silver mines of the         
republic4 ,these mines were the first   
that were worked in the country1 and    
immediately after the ,conquest they    
were very productive4 ,they were worked 
for generations1 and then abandoned2    
again resumed after lying idle for      
nearly a century1 and worked for almost 
another hundred years2 and then once    
more abandoned1 and resumed again while 
,i was in ,mexico4 ,they now produce    
that princely revenue to ,escandon and  
,company of which ,i have already       
spoken4   ,,the ,,hakal ,,mine4  ,the   
,hakal 7,haxal7 mine in part belonged to
 the number of those which the ,english 
,real del ,monte ,company worked on     
shares1 with poor success1 for          
twenty-five years4 ,it lies about three 
fourths of a mile from the village of   
,pachuca4 ,that company devoted their   
chief attention to the mines upon the   
top of the mountain1 at an elevation of 
#ijeg feet1 and seven miles distant from
 this place1 and these mines were       

comparatively neglected4 ,the new       
company1 immediately upon taking        
possession1 devoted particular attention
 to the ,hakal1 which resulted in their 
striking a bonanza1#gb in the ,rosario  
shaft1 which was yielding1 from a single
 small shaft1 about #hj1jjj a month1 if 
,i recollect rightly4#gc ,the ore of    
this mine is of a peculiar quality1 and 
its silver is best separated from the   
scoria by the smelting process1 of which
 ,i shall treat more fully when ,i come 
to speak of the mines of ,regla4 ,the   
,guadalupe shaft1 close by the ,rosario1
 was doing but little when ,i was there1
 as it does not belong to the same      
proprietors4 ,on the night of my arrival
 they had just completed the work of    
pumping the water out of the ,san       
,nicholas shaft1 famous for the immense 
amount of silver taken from it in the   
early period of the mining history of   
,mexico4  ,mounted on a good horse1 and 
followed by a lackey1 ,i rode up the    
zigzag carriage-road which the ,english 

company constructed a quarter of a      
century since in order to convey their  
immense steam machinery to the top of   
the mountain1 some seven miles distant4 
,this road is still kept in a good state
 of repair1 and forms a romantic drive  
for those who keep carriages in the     
mountains4 ,the sun was shining upon the
 cultivated hills and rolling lands far 
below us as we jogged along our winding 
way up the mountain4 ,at every turn in  
the road new beauties presented         
themselves4 ,but it was getting too     
chilly for moralizing1 and both lackey  
and ,i were pleased when we reached the 
village upon the top of the mountain1   
which bears the name of ,real del       
,monte4 ,the house of entertainment here
 is kept by an ,english woman1 who seems
 to be a part of the mining             
establishment4 ,while in her domicile1  
,i found no occasion to regret that ,i  
was again elevated into a cold latitude4
   ,,the ,,mining ,,mania4  ,more than  
thirty years have passed since that     

second ,south ,sea delusion1 the        
,anglo-,spanish ,american mining fever1 
broke out in ,england4 ,it surpassed a  
thousand-fold the wildest of all the    
,new ,york and ,california mining and   
quartz mining organizations of the last 
five years4 ,prudent financiers in      
,london ran stark mad in calculating the
 dividends they must unavoidably realize
 upon investments in a business to be   
carried on in a distant country1 and    
managed and controlled by a debating    
society or board of directors in        
,london4 ,money was advanced with almost
 incredible recklessness1 and agents    
were posted off with all secrecy to be  
first to secure from the owner of some  
abandoned mine the right to work it     
before the agent of some other company  
should arrive on the ground4 ,no mine   
was to be looked at that was not named  
in the volumes of ,humboldt1 and any    
mine therein named was valued above all 
price4 ,in the end1 some #ej1jjj1jjj of 
,english capital ran out1 and was used  

up in ,mexico4 ,it was one of those     
periodical manias that regularly seize a
 commercial people once in ten years1   
and for which there is no accounting1   
and no remedy but to let it have its way
 and work out its own cure in the ruin  
of thousands4 ,it is the same in our own
 country4#gd   ,,descent ,,into ,a      
,,mine4  ,after a hearty breakfast at   
the tavern1 ,i called at the office1 or1
 as it is here called1 the ,grand ,house
 7,casa ,grande71 and was introduced by 
,mr4 ,auld1 the director1 to the        
foreman1 who took me to the             
dressing-room1 where ,i was stripped1   
and clad in the garb of a miner except  
the boots1 which were all too short for 
my feet4 ,my rig was an odd one2 a      
skull-cap formed like a fireman's1 a    
miner's coat and pants1 and my own      
calf-skin boots4 ,but in ,california ,i 
had got used to uncouth attire1 and now 
thought nothing of such small matters4  
,we therefore walked on without comments
 to the house built over the great      

shaft1 where my good-natured ,english   
companion1 the foreman1 stopped me to   
complete my equipment1 which consisted  
of a lighted tallow candle stuck in a   
candlestick of soft mud1 and pressed    
till it adhered to the front of my      
miner's hat4 ,having fixed a similar    
appendage to his own hat and to the hat 
of the servant that was to follow us1 we
 were considered fully equipped for     
descending the mine4  ,while standing at
 the top of the shaft1 ,i was astonished
 at the size and perfect finish of a    
steam-pump that had been imported from  
,england by the late ,english mining    
company4 ,with the assistance of        
balancing weights1 the immense arms of  
the engine lifted1 with mathematical    
precision1 two square timbers1 the one  
spliced out to the length of a thousand1
 the other twelve hundred feet1 which   
fell back again by their own weight3    
these were the pumping-rods1 which      
lifted the water four hundred feet to   
the mouth of a tunnel1 or adit1 which   

carried it a mile and a quarter through 
the mountain1 and discharged it in the  
creek above the stamping-mill4 ,there is
 a smaller pump1 which works            
occasionally1 when the volume of water  
in the mines is too great for the power 
of a single pump4  ,a trap-door being   
lifted1 we began to descend by small    
ladders that reached from floor to floor
 in the shaft1 or1 rather1 in the half  
of the shaft4 ,the whole shaft was      
perhaps fifteen or twenty feet square1  
with sides formed of solid masonry1     
where the rock happened to be soft1     
while in other parts it consisted of    
natural porphyry rock cut smooth4 ,half 
of this shaft was divided off by a      
partition1 which extended the whole     
distance from the top to the bottom of  
the mine4 ,through this the materials   
used in the work were let down1 and the 
ore drawn up in large sacks1 consisting 
each of the skin of an ox4 ,the other   
half of the shaft contained the two     
pumping timbers1 and numerous floorings 

at short distances2 from one to another 
of these ran ladders1 by which men were 
continually ascending and descending1 at
 the risk of falling only a few feet at 
the utmost4 ,the descent from platform  
to platform was an easy one1 while the  
little walk upon the platform relieved  
the muscles exhausted by climbing down4 
,with no great fatigue ,i got down a    
thousand feet1 where our farther        
progress was stopped by the water that  
filled the lower galleries4  ,galleries 
are passages running off horizontally   
from the shaft1 either cut through the  
solid porphyry to intersect some vein1  
or else the space which a vein once     
occupied is fitted up for a gallery by  
receiving a wooden floor and a brick    
arch over head4 ,they are the passages  
that lead to others1 and to transverse  
galleries and veins1 which1 in so old a 
mine as this1 are very numerous4 ,when a
 vein sufficiently rich to warrant      
working is struck1 it is followed       
through all its meanderings as long as  

it pays for digging4 ,the opening made  
in following it is1 of course1 as       
irregular in form and shape as the vein 
itself4 ,the loose earth and rubbish    
taken out in following it is thrown into
 some abandoned opening or gallery1 so  
that nothing is lifted to the surface   
but the ore4 ,sometimes several gangs of
 hands will be working upon the same    
vein1 a board and timber floor only     
separating one set from another4 ,when  
,i have added to this description that  
this business of digging out veins has  
continued here for near three hundred   
years1 it can well be conceived that    
this mountain ridge has become a sort of
 honey-comb4   ,,the ,,miners4  ,when   
our party had reached the limit of      
descent1 we turned aside into a gallery1
 and made our way among gangs of        
workmen1 silently pursuing their daily  
labor in galleries and chambers reeking 
with moisture1 while the water trickled 
down on every side on its way to the    
common receptacle at the bottom4 ,here  

we saw ,english carpenters dressing     
timbers for flooring by the light of    
tallow candles that burned in soft mud  
candlesticks adhering to the rocky walls
 of the chamber4 ,men were industriously
 digging upon the vein1 others disposing
 of the rubbish1 while convicts were    
trudging along under heavy burdens of   
ore1 which they supported on their backs
 by a broad strap across their          
foreheads4 ,as we passed among these    
well-behaved gangs of men1 ,i was a     
little startled by the foreman remarking
 that one of those carriers had been    
convicted of killing ten men1 and was   
under sentence of hard labor for life4  
,far from there being any thing         
forbidding in the appearance of these   
murderers1 now that they were beyond the
 reach of intoxicating drink1 they bore 
the ordinary subdued expression of the  
,meztizo4 ,according to custom1 they    
lashed me to a stanchion as an intruder2
 but1 upon the foreman informing them   
that ,i would pay the usual forfeit of  

cigaritos on arriving at the            
station-house1 they good-naturedly      
relieved me4 ,then we journeyed on and  
on1 until my powers of endurance could  
sustain no more4 ,we sat down to rest1  
and to gather strength for a still      
longer journey4 ,at length we set out   
again1 sometimes climbing up1 sometimes 
climbing down2 now stopping to examine  
different specimens of ores that        
reflected back the glare of our lights  
with dazzling brilliancy1 and to look at
 the endless varieties in the appearance
 of the rock that filled the spaces in  
the porphyry matrix4 ,then we walked for
 a long way on the top of the aqueduct  
of the adit1 until we at last reached a 
vacant shaft1 through which we were     
drawn up and landed in the prison-house1
 from whence we walked to the           
station-house1 where we were dressed in 
our own clothes again4   ,,refining     
,,silver4  ,when my underground         
wanderings were ended1 and dinner eaten1
 it was too late in the day to visit the

 refining works2 but on the next        
morning1 bright and early1 ,i was in the
 saddle1 on my way to visit the         
different establishments connected with 
this mine4 ,first1 upon the river1 at   
the mouth of the adit1 was a            
stamping-mill1 where gangs of stamps    
were playing in troughs1 and reducing   
the hard ore to a coarse powder4 ,a     
little way farther down the stream the  
ore was ground1 and then1 in blast ovens
 or furnaces1 was heated until all the  
baser metals in the ore became charged  
with oxygen to such a degree that they  
would not unite with quicksilver4 ,the  
ore was then carried and placed in the  
bottom of large casks1 and water and    
quicksilver were added1 and then they   
were set rolling by machinery for       
several days1 until the silver had      
formed an amalgam with the mercury1     
while the baser metals in the ore were  
disengaged from the silver4 ,the whole  
mass being now poured out into troughs1 
the scoria was washed off from the      

amalgam1 which was gathered and put into
 a stout leathern bag with a cloth      
bottom1 and the unabsorbed mercury      
drained out4 ,the amalgam1 resembling   
lead in appearance1 being now cut up    
into cakes1 and placed under an immense 
retort1 fire was applied2 the mercury1  
in form of vapor1 was driven through a  
hole in the bottom of the platform into 
water1 where it was condensed1 while the
 silver remained pure in the retort4    
,this is called the barrel process1 and 
is used for certain kinds of ore4  ,i   
had come self-introduced to the ,real   
del ,monte1 but that had not prevented  
my receiving the accustomed hospitality 
of the establishment4 ,a groom and two  
of their best horses were at my service 
during my stay4 ,as the weather was     
fine1 and the roads of the first class  
of ,english carriage-ways1 ,i heartily  
enjoyed the ride down the mountain gorge
 until it opened upon the broad plain   
where the second refining establishment1
 that of ,vincente1 is situated4 ,except

 that the iron floors of their blast    
ovens were made to revolve while in a   
state of red heat1 all was substantially
 the same as at the last place4         
,following the meanderings of the       
stream1 ,i had been gradually descending
 from the sharp air of early spring to  
the more appropriate temperature of the 
tropics1 as ,i had occasion to notice in
 looking into the fine garden of the    
,english director1 which exhibited both 
the fertilizing effects of irrigation   
upon ,english flowers1 and the          
advantages of tropical heat upon native 
varieties4        #gb ,a very rich      
portion of a vein is called a bonanza4  
#gc ,mr4 ,thomas ,auld1 the director of 
the company1 furnished me       very    
accurate data in relation to affairs1   
but these are with my       other losses
 at ,new ,orleans4        #gd ,before   
leaving ,california1 a young man in my  
office1 who had       been using some of
 my money which he could not replace1   
proposed       to repay me in a         

certificate printed in red ink1 which   
certificate declared that ,i had paid   
#bjjj toward the capital       stock of 
---- ,mining ,company2 ,capital ,stock1 
#bej1jjj2 signed       ,col4 ----1      
,president1 a gentleman a little in     
arrears at his       boarding-house1 and
 my defaulting young man was secretary4 
,rather       an unpromising show that1 
as the property consisted of a tavern1  
built of canvas upon ,colonel ,fremont's
 ,maraposa grant1 on the       principle
 of squatter sovereignty4 ,near by the  
squatter had dug a       promising hole1
 and if only money and machinery could  
be had1       perhaps he might realize  
something from it4 ,the young man       
assured me that they had an agent in    
,new ,york negotiating for              
machinery1 and in a few months they     
would be able to declare                
dividends4 ,biting my lips to suppress a
 hearty laugh1 ,i put the       paper   
printed with red ink into my pocket4    
,on my arrival in ,new ,york1 ,i was    

thunderstruck at seeing a gilded        
sign stuck up on the ,merchants'        
,exchange3 ---- ,,mining ,,company      
,,office4 ,not over-troubled by modesty1
 ,i ventured in1 and       inquired if  
that machinery had been sent out4 ,i was
 requested to       be seated in a fine 
cushioned chair4 ,as ,i love            
entertainment1 ,i       sat down1 and   
took a survey of the desks1 the         
,brussels carpet1       the ledgers1 and
 the piles of pamphlets1 which clearly  
demonstrated that a man would get his   
money back many times over       before 
he paid it in4 ,it seemed strange how   
all this could he       supported on the
 supposed future earnings of a hole in  
the       ground4 ,the ,board of        
,directors assembled4 ,many of them1 ,i 
was       assured1 were the leading men 
of ,new ,york1 and things went off      
with all solemnity4 ,when all was ready1
 an immense piece of the       richest  
gold quartz was taken from a desk1 such 
as used to be       sold at good prices 

in ,san ,francisco for this very        
purpose4 ,but       not a man in that   
august assembly dreamed of the manner in
 which       such things are gotten up1 
except perhaps the said agent sent out  
to get machinery1 but now figuring as a 
director4 ,i was easily       prevailed 
on to sign an argumentative certificate1
 and was shown       one signed by      
,robert ,j4 ,walker on a much worse hole
 in the ground       than this4 ,i was  
also informed that ,new ,york was not   
the proper       market1 which ,i       
understand to mean that machinery could 
not be       obtained in ,new ,york on  
the credit of a quartz vein2 and in     
,london they would not look at a scheme 
that did not embrace a       million at 
least1 said the agent aforesaid4        
,therefore he proposed       to give me 
an engraved certificate1 declaring that 
,i had paid       #hjjj1 which of course
 ,i readily accepted when ,i found that 
there       was no machinery in the     
case1 and that all ,i had to rest my    

engraved certificate upon was the one   
hundredth part of the said       hole in
 the ground1 with a doubtful title4 ,the
 last ,i heard of       this agent was1 
that he was traveling with his wife upon
 the       ,rhine4 ,whether he was in   
search of machinery or not1 ,i did not  
stop to inquire4        ,instead of the 
above being an extraordinary case1 ,i   
understand       that it is about a fair
 average of the ,california gold schemes
       that have been brought upon the  
stock-market of ,new ,york4 ,if the     
papers are only drawn up in the proper  
form1 the most prudent men       in     
,wall ,street are sometimes found to    
embark their capital before       the   
question has ever been settled whether  
gold can be       successfully obtained 
from quartz in ,california4             
,,chapter ,,xxxii4  ,a ,visit to the    
,refining-mills4--,the ,falls and       
basaltic ,columns of ,regla4--,how a    
,title is acquired to ,silver           
,mines4--,the ,story of ,peter          

,terreros1 ,count of ,regla4--,the most 
successful of ,miners4--,silver obtained
 by fusing the ,ore4--,silver benefited 
upon the ,patio4--,the ,tester of the   
,patio4--,the chemical ,processes       
employed4--,the ,heirs of the ,count of 
,regla4--,the ,ruin caused by ,civil    
,war4--,the ,history of the ,english    
,company4   ,we rode along the stone    
road across the plain1 passing now a    
number of ,english-made wagons laden    
with stamped ore for ,regla1 and then a 
drove of cargo-donkeys trudging along   
under the weight of bags filled with the
 rich ore of ,hakal4 ,now and then1 too1
 we encountered ,american army-wagons   
converted to peaceful employment1 and   
adding to the material wealth of        
,mexico4 ,but our ride was not a long   
one before we reached ,regla1 the utmost
 limit of our journeyings1 a distance of
 twelve miles from the ,real4 ,here the 
first salutation from the ,english      
gentleman at the head of the            
establishment was that breakfast was    

waiting1 as it was now eleven o'clock1  
and we must not visit the works upon an 
empty stomach4 ,my surprise at this     
unlooked-for hospitality was a little   
diminished when ,i learned that all     
these entertainments of strangers are at
 the company's expense4   ,,the ,,falls 
,,of ,,regla4  ,the patio1 or open yard 
of ,regla1 on which the principal       
portion of the ores of the ,real del    
,monte company are benefited1 or1 as we 
should say1 extracted1 is situated deep 
down in a barranca1 where both          
water-power and intense heat can be     
obtained to facilitate the process of   
separation4 ,the immense amount of      
mason-work here expended in the erection
 of massive walls would make an imposing
 appearance if they had been built up in
 the open plain2 but here they are so   
overshadowed by the mason-work of nature
 that they sink into insignificance in  
comparison4 ,the bank1 some two hundred 
feet high1 of solid rock1 as it         
approaches the waterfall on either side1

 has the appearance of being supported  
by natural buttresses of basaltic       
columns--columns closely joined together
 and placed erect by the hand of        
nature's master-builder4 ,still1 all    
would have been stiff and formal had the
 sides of the barranca been lined only  
with perpendicular columns2 but broken  
and displaced pillars are piled in every
 conceivable position against the front1
 while a vine with brilliant leaves had 
run to every fissure and spread itself  
out to enjoy the sunshine4 ,the little  
stream that had burst its way through   
the upright columns and over the broken 
fragments1 fell into a perfect basin of 
basalt1 heightening immensely the       
attractions of the spot4 ,i sat down    
upon a fallen column1 and for a long    
time continued to contemplate the       
unexpected scene1 of which1 at that     
time1 ,i had read nothing4 ,there was   
such a mingling of the rich vegetation  
of the hot country with the rocky       
ornaments of this pretty waterfall that 

,i could never grow weary of admiring   
the combined grandeur and beauty of the 
place1 from which ,peter ,terreros      
derived his title of ,count of ,regla4  
,peter ,terreros1 the first ,count of   
,regla1 became one of the rich men of   
the last century in consequence of a    
lucky mining adventure4 ,in olden times 
the water in the ,real del ,monte mines 
had been lifted out of the mouth of the 
,santa ,brigeda and other shafts in     
bulls' hides carried up on a windlass4  
,when near the surface1 this simple     
method of getting the water out of a    
mine has great advantages on account of 
its cheapness1 and is now extensively   
employed in ,mexican mines4 ,but after a
 certain depth had been reached1 the    
head of water could no longer be kept   
down by this process1 and1 in           
consequence1 the ,real del ,monte was   
abandoned about the beginning of the    
last century1 and became a complete     
ruin2 for no wreck is more complete than
 that which water causes when it once   

gets possession of a mine1 and mingles  
into one mass floating timbers1 loosened
 earth1 rubbish1 and soft and fallen    
rock4 ,by the mining laws of ,mexico1   
the title to a mine is lost by          
abandoning and ceasing to work it4 ,it  
becomes a waif open to the enterprise of
 any one who may re-denounce it4 ,the   
title to the soil in ,mexico1 as in     
,california1 carries no title to the    
gold and silver mineral that may be     
contained in the land4 ,the precious    
metals are not only regarded in law as  
treasure-trove1 but they carry with them
 to the lucky discoverer the right to   
enter upon another person's land1 and to
 appropriate so much of the land as is  
necessary to avail himself of his prize4
 ,colonel ,fremont's ,mariposa claim1   
and all other ,california land claims1  
are subject to this legal condition4    
,,peter ,,terreros4  ,peter ,terreros1  
then a man of limited means1 conceived  
the idea of draining this abandoned mine
 by means of a tunnel or adit 7socabon7 

through the rock1 one mile and a quarter
 in length1 from the level of the stream
 till it should strike the ,santa       
,brigeda shaft4 ,upon this enterprise he
 toiled with varied success from #agej  
until #agfb1 when he completed his      
undertaking1 and also struck a bonanza1 
which continued for twelve years to     
yield an amount of silver which in our  
day appears to be fabulous4 ,the veins  
which he struck from time to time1 as he
 advanced with his socabon1 furnished   
means to keep alive his enterprise4     
,when he reached the main shaft1 he had 
a ruin to clear out and rebuild1 which  
was a more costly undertaking than the  
building of a king's palace4 ,yet his   
bonanza not only furnished all the means
 for a system of lavish expenditure upon
 the mines and refining-works1 but from 
his surplus profits he laid out half a  
million annually in the purchase of     
plantations1 or six millions of dollars 
in the twelve years4 ,this is equal to  
about #ejj1jjj pounds' weight of silver4

 ,besides doing this1 he loaned to the  
king a million of dollars1 which has    
never been paid1 and built and equipped 
two ships of the line1 and presented    
them to his sovereign4  ,the humble     
shop-keeper1 ,peter ,terreros1 after    
such displays of munificence1 was       
ennobled by the title of ,count of      
,regla4 ,among the common people he is  
the subject of more fables than was     
,croesus of old4 ,when his children were
 baptized1 so the story goes1 the       
procession walked upon bars of silver4  
,by way of expressing his gratitude for 
the title conferred upon him1 he sent an
 invitation to the king to visit him at 
his mine1 assuring his majesty that if  
he would confer on him such an exalted  
favor1 his majesty's feet should not    
tread upon the ground while he was in   
the ,new ,world4 ,wherever he should    
alight from his carriage it should be   
upon a pavement of silver1 and the      
places where he lodged should be lined  
with the same precious metal4 ,anecdotes

 of this kind are innumerable1 which1 of
 course1 amount to no more than showing 
that in his own time his wealth was     
proverbial1 and demonstrate that in     
popular estimation he stood at the head 
of that large class of miners whom the  
wise king ennobled as a reward for      
successful mining adventures1 and that  
he was accounted the richest miner in   
the vice-kingdom4 ,the state and        
magnificence which he oftentimes        
displayed surpassed that of the         
,vice-king4 ,this1 in no way embarrassed
 an estate1 the largest ever accumulated
 by one individual in a single          
enterprise4  ,count ,peter is estimated 
to have expended two and a half millions
 of dollars upon the buildings          
constituting the refining establishment 
of ,regla1 which goes under the general 
designation of the patio4 ,why his walls
 were built so thick1 or why so many    
massive arches should have been         
constructed1 is an enigma to the present
 generation1 as they could by no means  

have been intended for a fortress down  
in a barranca4  ,but let us go in and   
examine the different methods of        
benefiting silver here applied4 ,the    
ores from the ,rosario shaft of the     
,hakal mine of ,pachuca are here stamped
 and ground1 and then thrown into a     
furnace1 after having been mixed with   
lime1 which in fire increases the heat2 
while upon the open torta we shall see  
that lime is used to cool the mass4     
,litharge 7oxide of lead7 is added1 and 
the mass is burned until the litharge is
 decomposed1 the lead uniting with the  
silver and the oxygen entering into the 
slag1 into which the baser metals1 or   
scoria in the ore1 have been formed4    
,this is cast out at the bottom of the  
furnace4 ,the mass of molten lead and   
silver is drawn off1 and placed in a    
large oven with a rotary bottom1 into   
which tongues of flame are continually  
driven until the lead in the compound   
has become once more oxydized1 forming  
litharge1 and the silver is left in a   

pure state4 ,this is the most simple    
method of purifying1 or benefiting      
silver4   ,,benefiting ,,the ,,ore4  ,a 
little beyond the furnace is a series of
 tubs1 built of blocks from broken      
columns of basalt4 ,in the centre of    
each revolves a shaft with four arms1 to
 each of which is fastened a block of   
basalt1 that is dragged on the stone    
bottom of the tub1 where broken ore     
mixed with water is ground to the finest
 paste4 ,here the chemical process of   
benefiting commences4 ,a bed is prepared
 upon the paved floor 7patio7 in the    
yard1 in the same manner as a mortar bed
 is prepared to receive quicklime       
dissolved in water4 ,in the same way is 
poured out the semi-liquid paste4 ,this 
is called a torta1 and contains about   
#de1jjj lbs4 ,upon this liquid mass four
 and a half cargas of #cjj lbs4 of salt 
is spread1 and then a coating of blue   
vitriol 7sulphate of copper7 is laid    
over the whole1 and the tramping by     
mules commences4 ,if the mass is found  

to be too hot for the advantageous      
working of the process1 then lime in    
sufficient quantities is added to cool  
it2 and if too cool1 then iron pyrites  
7sulphate of iron7 is added4 ,the mules 
are then turned upon the bed1 and for a 
single day it is mixed most thoroughly  
together by tramping and by turning it  
over by the shovel4 ,on the second day  
#gej lbs4 of quicksilver are added to   
the torta1 and then the tramping is     
resumed4  ,the most important personage1
 not even excepting the director1 is    
called the tester2 for the condition of 
the ores varies so much1 that experience
 alone can determine the mode of        
proceeding with each separate torta1 and
 upon the tester's judgment depends     
oftentimes the question whether a mining
 enterprise1 involving millions of      
dollars1 shall prove a profitable or    
unprofitable adventure4 ,perhaps he can 
not read or write1 though daily engaged 
in carrying on1 empirically1 the most   
difficult of chemical processes4 ,to him

 is intrusted the entire control of the 
most valuable article employed in       
mining--the quicksilver4 ,he is         
constantly testing the various tortas   
spread out upon the patio2 to one he    
determines that lime must be added2 to  
another1 an opposite process must be    
applied by adding iron pyrites4 ,when   
all is ready1 with his own hands he     
applies the quicksilver1 which he       
carries in a little cloth bag1 through  
the pores of which he expresses the     
mercury as he walks over and over the   
torta1 much after the manner that seed  
is sown with us4 ,the tester determines 
when the silver has all been collected  
and amalgamated with the mercury4       
,whether the tramping process and the   
turning by shovels shall continue for   
six weeks or for only three1 is decided 
by him4 ,when he decides that it is     
prepared for washing1 the mass is       
transported to an immense washing       
machine1 which is propelled by water1   
where the base substances are all washed

 from the amalgam1 and then the amalgam 
is resolved into its original elements  
of silver and quicksilver by fire1 as   
already explained1 with the loss of     
about seventy-five to one hundred pounds
 of mercury upon each torta4  ,let us   
now run over the many chemical processes
 that have been resorted to in order to 
separate the silver from the ore4 ,the  
roll-brimstone1 that has been procured  
in ,durango1 or in the volcano of       
,popocatapetl1 is bought up at the mint 
in the city of ,mexico1 where it is     
burned in a room lined with lead1 and   
into which water is jetted until the    
smoke of the burning brimstone is       
condensed4 ,this water of sulphur is    
then carefully collected1 and distilled 
in a boiler of platinum1 on which       
sulphur can not act4 ,the sulphuric acid
 obtained by this distillation is used  
to separate the gold that is found in   
the silver bars from silver4 ,this      
sometimes amounts to ten per cent4 ,the 
acid dissolves the silver1 but does not 

act upon the gold1 which is thus        
separated from the silver4 ,the sulphate
 of silver is drawn off and poured upon 
plates of copper1 by which means the    
silver is precipitated1 and sulphate of 
copper1 or blue vitriol1 is produced1   
which1 not being of use in the mint1 is 
sold to the ,real del ,monte ,company1  
where it is employed in obtaining       
silver4 ,the process by which the       
company obtain their salt has been      
already stated1 while the lime they use 
is burned upon the mountains4 ,after all
 these hard and laborious processes1    
only from five to ten per cent4 of      
silver is obtained1 except in cases of  
bonanzas1 which shows that silver mines 
can be profitably worked only in those  
countries where labor commands the      
lowest standard of wages4   ,,the       
,,heirs ,,of ,,regla4  ,the heirs of the
 ,count ,peter inherited his accumulated
 treasures1 his purchased estates1 his  
title1 and his prospects of future      
success in mining1 which were as        

brilliant as they had been in his       
lifetime4 ,they never dreamed of        
financial embarrassments in the midst of
 accumulations of wealth which surpassed
 the wildest of ,oriental romances4     
,they forgot that their wealth rested   
upon the perfect security which they    
inherited from the wise and virtuous    
government of ,carlos ,,iii41 of blessed
 memory2 that he it was who had put out 
the fires of the ,inquisition1 and so   
curtailed the power of the priests that 
they could no longer plunder with       
impunity1 or rob the ,terreros of the   
fruits of their father's enterprise by  
threatening them with the censure of the
 ,church1 which1 in the reign of a      
feeble king1 had a significant meaning4 
,the new code of mining laws1 the       
cheapness of quicksilver1 and the       
opening of commerce1 had all combined to
 make their fortune1 which they might   
lose in a moment if the heir to the     
throne should prove an idiot1 as was    
most likely1 and priests should again   

usurp the control of affairs1 and play  
their old game of plundering the rich   
while they excited the populace4        
,fortunately for the family of ,terreros
 and the many successful mining families
 of that period1 ,charles ,,iv4 was not 
quite so much of an idiot as his        
grandfather or his great-grandfather had
 been1 and though the ,inquisitors      
resumed their fires1 yet it was with    
such comparative moderation as not to   
interfere seriously with the progress of
 that prosperity to which ,carlos ,,iii4
 had given an impulse4 ,the ,countess of
 ,regla still sported the richest jewels
 to be found in ,new ,spain1 and her    
sister's coronet was the envy of all the
 ladies of the court4 ,but the          
insurrection of ,hidalgo came upon them 
in the midst of prosperity1 overwhelming
 alike the rich and the poor4 ,the large
 ,spanish capitals began to be withdrawn
 from the country1 the plantations were 
broken up1 and the mines1 abandoned by  
their laborers1 soon fell to ruin2 and  

they who had been baptized in the midst 
of the most ostentatious display of     
wealth1 found themselves pinched to     
sustain their ordinary expenses4   ,,the
 ,,real ,,del ,,monte4  ,the ,terreros  
family kept their title good to the     
,real del ,monte by retaining a few     
workmen about the premises2 but it was  
substantially abandoned for twenty-five 
years before the ,english ,real del     
,monte ,company took possession4 ,in the
 space of two years this company had    
cleared out and rebuilt the adit by     
working gangs of hands night and day4   
,another party1 engaged upon the shafts1
 arrived at the adit level at the same  
time with the workmen upon the drain4 ,a
 third party1 engaged in making and     
repairing a carriage-road from the sea  
to the mine1 had completed their labors2
 while a fourth party1 in charge of     
machinery and steam-power apparatus     
enough to equip a ,cornish mine of the  
largest class1 had arrived at the mine4 
,in this fourfold1 and much of it       

useless labor1 the company had exhibited
 untiring activity1 while they exhausted
 all their capital without realizing the
 return of a single dollar4 ,but they   
derived rich hopes from reading the     
story of ,peter ,terreros1 and they     
continued to hope on and hope ever1 for 
a period of twenty-five years longer1   
when they ceased to exist4 ,the story of
 this company is summed up in saying    
that they expended upon this vast       
enterprise the sum of #bj1jjj1jjj1 and  
realized from it #af1jjj1jjj4 ,they     
disposed of all their interests here for
 about what their materials were worth  
as old iron1 and the present proprietors
 enjoy the fruits of their labors at a  
cost of less than a million of dollars1 
with a fair prospect of yet realizing   
from their speculation as large a       
treasure as that acquired by ,peter     
,terreros1 the first ,count of ,regla4  
,having thus described with some        
minuteness one of the most extensive    
silver mines in the world1 where an     

average of #ejjj men and unnumbered     
animals are employed1 it will not be    
necessary to go into details as we      
notice the many other celebrated mines  
of ,mexico4     ,,chapter ,,xxxiii4     
,toluca4--,queretaro1 ,guanajuato1 and  
,zacatecas4--,fresnillo4--,romancing4--,
a lucky ,priest4--,san ,luis            
,potosi4--,the ,valenciana at           
,guanajuato4--,under-mining4--,a ,name  
of ,blasphemy4--,the ,los               
,rayas4--,immense ,sums taken from ,los 
,rayas4--,warlike ,indians in           
,zacatecas4   ,a stage runs daily from  
the city of ,mexico by ,tacubaya and the
 ,desierto to the beautiful valley and  
city of ,toluca4 ,this town is greatly  
indebted for its present celebrity to   
successful mining adventures4 ,its      
,cathedral is a monument of the         
munificent liberality of the ,frenchman 
,laborde1 whose fortune was ever unequal
 to his generosity4 ,we have spoken     
already of the almost ,oriental         
magnificence displayed in the famous    

garden which he built and adorned at    
,cuarnavaca4 ,after spending the wealth 
acquired from the bonanza of ,tasco1 he 
started off in search of new adventures 
and a new fortune4 ,being again         
successful1 he made ,toluca the         
beneficiary of his princely liberality4 
,the celebrated ,cathedral of that city1
 and all its ornaments1 are the proofs  
of his munificence4 ,when his third     
fortune was exhausted1 the fickle       
goddess forsook him1 and he who had     
three times been raised from nothing to 
the condition of a millionaire1 came in 
his old age to the archbishop for relief
 from his poverty4 ,this relief he      
obtained by selling the jewels he had   
once bestowed upon the ,church4 ,such   
often are the vicissitudes in the life  
of a successful miner4 ,i can not notice
 here the many interesting objects      
gathered as ,i would wish to do1 nor    
have ,i space for a description of the  
beautiful mountain scenery about        
,toluca4   ,,middle ,,states ,,of       

,,mexico4  ,the middle states of        
,mexico1 ,guanajuata1 ,zacatecas1       
,durango1 and ,san ,luis1 are deserving 
of a more extended notice than my       
limited space will permit4 ,there is    
little of war or romance to recount in  
the history of any of them4 ,their story
 is made up of notices of silver mines1 
and times of great bonanzas and         
cattle-raising4 ,here the population is 
mostly white1 made up of the hardy      
peasantry from ,biscay4 ,the ,indians on
 the high table-lands were too hardy to 
be reduced to slavery3 the result is the
 same here as in ,chili4 ,the two races 
have not extensively intermixed1 as the 
,indians were driven northward1 where1  
for a period of three hundred years1    
they have1 in a measure1 maintained     
their independence1 and have so much    
improved in the art of war that they are
 able to return again and fight for the 
homes of their ancestors4 ,the white    
inhabitants of these states are more    
cleanly in their habits1 and more       

industrious than the ,southern people4  
,the little state of ,queretaro has     
little to boast but its agriculture1 but
 to the north of it is a country of     
mines and pasturage4  ,there was        
formerly great rivalry between the      
states of ,guanajuato and ,zacatecas on 
the ground of their mining successes4   
,each in turn has had its season of     
boasting1 for it has happened that1 in  
those years when ,guanajuato was most   
prosperous1 ,zacatecas was not in       
bonanza1 and vice versa4 ,when ,i was   
first in ,mexico1 ,san ,luz and ,san    
,luce1 at ,guanajuato1 were in bonanza1 
with divers others2 and out of #cjj1jjj 
in silver bars brought down to the city 
of ,mexico1 nearly ten per cent4 of gold
 was extracted4 ,but now both these     
bonanzas have given out1 and the annual 
product of silver in the ,state of      
,guanajuato has fallen off over         
#b1jjj1jjj1 while the mines of          
,zacatecas are in a most flourishing    
condition1 as is shown by the large sum 

of #a1bjj1jjj being demanded by         
government for renewing the lease of the
 mint at ,zacatecas4  ,fresnillo is the 
most flourishing of the mines of        
,zacatecas4 ,this mine was formerly     
considered of little value4 ,among its  
advantages is an ,american manager1 who 
for many years has aided in the         
direction of its affairs4 ,on my return 
from ,mexico1 ,i found the road up the  
,perote covered with wagons laden with  
portions of a monster steam-engine1 the 
fifth that was to be employed to pump   
the water from this mine4 ,it seems     
incredible that so large a sum as       
#a1jjj1jjj should be required for the   
freight alone of this new machinery4    
,but1 after ,i had become familiar with 
the vast scale on which every thing is  
conducted at a large silver mine1 where 
millions appear as the small dust of the
 balance1 ,i can credit what my readers 
might think improbable4#ge  ,i have     
often spoken of the peculiarities of    
peasant life in the country and of the  

peons of the cities4 ,but there is      
another phase of humble life to be      
considered--the social state of the mine
 laborer4 ,like all men whose wages are 
very irregular1 and subject to the      
fluctuations which follow mining        
speculations1 they themselves become    
irregular in their lives4 ,they have all
 heard of the many instances of persons 
of as humble condition as themselves    
accidentally falling upon a princely    
fortune1 and they know1 too1 what a     
miraculous change such a discovery makes
 in the social condition of a peon1 for 
every miner in ,zacatecas knows the     
homely distich3      ,had the metals not
 been so rich at ,san ,bernabe1         
,ibarra would not have wed the daughter 
of ,virey4#gf  ,in addition to scraps   
and snatches of songs1 the mining       
laborers have their romances1 which are 
as wild as the yarns of the sailor1 and 
have for their almost universal theme   
the miraculous acquisition and loss of a
 fortune4 ,the hero possesses princely  

wealth to-day1 though yesterday he was  
suffering for food1 and to-morrow he    
will be again bereft of all by the      
fickle turns that ,fortune makes in the 
wheel of destiny4 ,the wildest of our   
romances never come up to many incidents
 that have occurred in their own mine2  
and when they attempt fiction1 it is on 
the pattern of the ,arabian ,nights'    
,entertainments4 ,i do verily believe   
that all that class of ,arabian tales   
are but the reproduction of the romances
 from the ,oriental gold-washings4  ,the
 most important mines in the ,state of  
,san ,luis ,potosi are those near       
,cuatorce4 ,in the midst of bleak and   
precipitous mountain ridges is the      
village of ,cuatorce1 from which a      
circuitous mountain road leads to the   
entrance of the mining shafts1 in which 
more wonderful things have occurred than
 in the wildest of the romances4 ,the   
story of ,padre ,flores is a familiar   
one1 but will bear repeating4   ,,padre 
,,flores4--,,cuatorce4  ,the padre1     

being tired of the idle life of a pauper
 priest1 bought1 for a small sum1 the   
claim of some still more needy          
adventurer4 ,after following his small  
vein a little way1 he came to a small   
cavern containing the ore in a state of 
decomposition4 ,this1 in ,california1   
would be called a rotten vein4 ,with all
 the difficulties to be encountered in  
obtaining a fair value for mineral in a 
crude state1 the poor priest realized   
from his adventure over #c1jjj1jjj1     
which was considered a very fair fortune
 for an unmitred ecclesiastic4  ,the    
,mineral ,report1 mentioned in the last 
note1 which is so full on the subject   
,fresnillo1 insists that it is a        
continuation of the formation of        
,cuatorce and the other mines of ,san   
,luis4 ,the mountains at ,cuatorce are  
more dreary1 bleak1 and barren than in  
any other of the principal mining       
districts1 as it is more exposed to the 
storms and tempests from the northeast  
and from the ocean4 ,it was in this     

,state of ,san ,luis ,potosi that ,dr4  
,gardner's quicksilver mine was alleged 
to exist1 and in the ineffectual efforts
 made to determine its whereabouts our  
government has become quite familiar    
with the location of all the worked     
mines of this state4 ,the mines upon the
 mountains of ,cuatorce are said to have
 been discovered in #aggh by a negro    
fiddler1 who1 being compelled to camp   
out on his way home from a dance1 built 
a fire upon what proved to be an outcrop
 of a vein1 and1 in consequence1 found  
in the morning1 among the embers1 a     
piece of virgin silver4 ,it is a        
doubtful question among those who are   
anxious about trifles whether the name  
,potosi given to this mine1 owes its    
origin to the similarity between the    
mode of its discovery to that of the    
celebrated mines of that name in ,south 
,america1 or to the vast amount of      
silver at one time taken from it4       
,guanajuato1 when it yielded its six    
millions a year of silver1 besides a    

fair supply of gold1 was one of the most
 important ,states in the republic4     
,with every successful speculation1 new 
adventurers were found to invest their  
capital in resuming the working of      
abandoned mines1 until at last men have 
become bold enough to undertake1 for the
 third time1 the draining of the great  
shaft of the ,valenciana1 so famous in  
the last century4 ,when ,i was last in  
,mexico that undertaking was reported to
 have been accomplished4 ,this mine is  
on a more magnificent scale than even   
the ,real del ,monte4 ,its central shaft
 alone cost a million of dollars2 and   
though steam power can not be used1 yet 
it is so dry that horse windlasses can  
keep it clear of water4 ,its abandonment
 in every instance has been in          
consequence of some insurrectionary     
chief setting the works of the mine on  
fire1 and not from any deficiency in its
 product of silver4 ,when ,i was in     
,mexico1 so little progress had been    
made in restoring the mine that it was  

not thought worth visiting4 ,but the    
most sanguine hopes were entertained    
that it would again be as productive as 
in the times when its abundant riches   
secured for its owner the title of      
,marquis of ,valenciana1 though he had  
worked with his own hands on the shaft  
which afterward yielded him its         
millions4   ,,the ,,mine ,,of ,,los     
,,rayas4  ,second in importance among   
the old mines of ,guanajuato is ,los    
,rayas4 ,its history presents a new     
feature in the mining system of ,mexico1
 not before mentioned1 but which is     
important to a right understanding of   
the operation of the mining code4 ,the  
right of discovery gives title to two   
hundred varas along the mine1 and to two
 hundred varas 7about #ejj feet7 in     
depth4 ,the consequence of this         
limitation is1 that when a very rich    
claim is made1 there immediately springs
 up a contest to get below it1 and to   
cut off the lucky discoverer from the   
lower part of his expected fortune1 and 

he has no means of avoiding such a      
result but by driving his shaft downward
 until he reaches a point below his     
first two hundred varas1 which entitles 
him to claim another section downward4  
,this principle is strikingly           
illustrated in the case of the famous   
mine of the priest ,flores at ,cuatorce1
 which he blasphemously named the ,purse
 of ,god the ,father1#gg where there are
 marks of divers attempts being made to 
undermine him1 though without success4  
,but the case is a different one when   
the bonanza is upon a high ridge1 and it
 can be undermined by drifting in from a
 lower level4 ,then commences a lively  
contest to determine who can dig the    
fastest1 and make the most rapid        
progress in this contest of mining and  
countermining4  ,the ,marquis de los    
,rayas owes his title and his princely  
fortune of #aa1jjj1jjj to a successful  
contest of this character4 ,the ,santa  
,amita was in bonanza1 yielding an ore  
so pregnant with gold that the crude    

mass often sold for its weight in       
silver4   ,,deep ,,mining4  ,contests of
 this kind are very different from those
 which used to take place in ,california
 some years ago1 when twenty feet square
 was marked off upon the top of a ridge1
 through which the claimant had to sink 
his shaft to the base rock on which the 
gold was supposed to be deposited4 ,when
 the rock was reached1 it was often     
found difficult to keep the lines that  
had been marked off on the surface1     
particularly when the lead grew richer  
as it approached the border of the      
claim4 ,controversies were frequent1 and
 frequently resulted in subterranean    
quarrels and fights1 and1 of course1    
ended in superterranean lawsuits4 ,but  
the ,mexican rival parties were seldom  
near enough for a fight1 and the quarrel
 ended1 as it began1 in a contest to    
determine who could dig the fastest4    
,another peculiar feature of deep mining
 is the construction of the main shafts4
 ,a description of the method of        

construction of one of these ,i take    
from ,ward's ,mexico1#gh a book that is 
otherwise of little value to a person   
seeking for information on the subject  
of mines at ,guanajuata1 so great has   
been the revolution there in a few years
 in the condition of mining affairs3 ,i 
know few sights more interesting than   
the operation of blasting in the shafts 
of ,los ,rayas4 ,after each quarryman   
7barretero7 has undermined the portion  
of rock allotted to him1 he is drawn up 
to the surface2 the ropes belonging to  
the horse-windlasses 7malacates7 are    
coiled up1 so as to leave every thing   
clear below1 and a man descends1 whose  
business it is to fire the slow matches 
communicating with the mines below4  ,as
 his chance of escaping the effects of  
the explosion consists in being drawn up
 with such rapidity as to be placed     
beyond the reach of the fragments of    
rock that are projected into the air1   
the lightest malacate is prepared for   
his use1 and two horses are attached to 

it1 selected for their swiftness and    
courage1 and are called the horses of   
pegador4 ,the man is let down slowly1   
carrying with him a light and a small   
rope1 one end of which is held by one of
 the overseers1 who is stationed at the 
mouth of the shaft4 ,a breathless       
silence is observed until the signal is 
given from below by pulling the cord of 
communication1 when the two men by whom 
the horses are previously held release  
their heads1 and they dash off at full  
speed until they are stopped either by  
the noise of the first explosion1 or by 
seeing from the quantity of cord wound  
round the cylinder of the malacate that 
the pegador is already raised to a      
height of sixty or seventy varas        
,spanish yards1 and is consequently     
beyond the reach of danger4  ,the author
 then goes on to enumerate the risks    
that attend this calling of pegador1 and
 the consequent high wages that have to 
be paid to persons who undertake this   
perilous office1 all of which accidents 

and adventures must be familiar to those
 of my readers who have paid any        
attention to the business of blasting   
rocks2 and as his hairbreadth escapes   
have nothing in them remarkable1 we may 
conclude this notice of ,los ,rayas by  
adding his statement that the king's    
fifth from this mine1 from #aeef to his 
time1 amounted to the snug sum of       
#ag1cfe1jjj4 ,he gives only the sum     
reported1 and makes no calculation for  
the large sums out of which the king was
 annually cheated at all the mines4     
,that my reader may understand how a sum
 so apparently incredible as five or    
eight times seventeen millions of       
dollars could be taken out of a single  
mine1 he must recollect that ,los ,rayas
 was a most productive mine shortly     
after the ,conquest1 and that for a     
century or two it was comparatively of  
little value1 until ,mr4 ,jose          
,sardaneta undertook the undermining of 
the rich mine of ,santa ,amita in #agdj1
 and that afterward the rich product of 

the lower levels of the ,santa ,amita   
are included in this immense sum4       
,,indians ,,and ,,soldiers4  ,there is  
too much sameness in the details of the 
histories of the various other important
 mines of this ,state and of those in   
the adjoining ,state of ,durango to     
justify the lengthening out this        
chapter1 and ,i will conclude it with   
giving the substance of a statement ,i  
heard the ,american gentleman make on   
the subject of ,indian depredations in  
the very centre of the republic1 showing
 the great inconvenience suffered in    
consequence of the state of insecurity  
in which the people constantly live4 ,a 
party of their own ,indians1 a most     
degraded band of cowardly vagabonds1    
that lived not a great way from the     
city1 concluded to personify a company  
of northern savages1 in order more      
successfully to plunder the inhabitants4
 ,with shoutings1 these vagabonds rushed
 into the houses of the people1 who were
 so paralyzed by the very sight of      

,indians in a hostile attitude1 that1   
without resistance1 they suffered them  
to plunder whatever came within their   
reach which tempted their cupidity or   
lust4 ,at length1 becoming satiated with
 liquor and champagne that they had     
taken from a carrier1 they had to retire
 and camp out for the night4 ,in their  
retreat they were pursued by a captain  
and soldiers of the regular army1 who1  
being more numerous than the ,indians1  
exhibited a great deal of courage until 
they came in sight of the savages1 when1
 all at once1 it was concluded to encamp
 for the night1 and to resume the       
pursuit the next day1 when the ,indians 
would be at such a distance that they   
would not disturb their pursuers by     
their whooping4        #ge ,by reference
 to a long and able paper on the mines  
in the       hill of ,proano            
7,fresnillo71 it appears that one half  
of the cost       of four               
pumping-engines already in operation in 
that mine was the       freight from    

,vera ,cruz to the mine4        #gf     
,this translation is bad enough1 but no 
worse than the       original4          
#gg ,this will sound to ,protestant     
readers something like       horrible   
blasphemy2 but it must be borne in mind 
that ,god the       ,father of the      
,catholics is an entirely different idea
 from the       spiritual ,god whom we  
worship4 ,the devout ,protestant who    
recognizes but one ,being worthy of     
adoration1 veneration1 and              
worship1 never ventures to mention any  
of the names by which ,he       is known
 but with the profoundest reverence4    
,the ,catholic1 on the       other hand1
 has a host of objects which he deems   
worthy of       adoration1 and seems to 
have cheapened the article by           
multiplying       it4 ,his senses are   
all exercised in his peculiar kind of   
worship1       and1 as a natural        
consequence1 they are apt to conclude   
that the       ,almighty enjoys those   
exhibitions that give them the greatest 

pleasure4 ,they worship him by          
performing a pantomime of the life      
and suffering of ,christ1 which is      
called the mass1 and seek to            
propitiate him by offering the body of  
his ,son in sacrifice4 ,they            
bestow upon ,god gifts of jewels and of 
gold2 and as he passes       through    
their streets in the form of a wafer1 as
 they believe1       the soldiers       
present arms1 beat the drum1 and        
discharge their       cannon1 as to an  
earthly prince4 ,though our ,saviour    
7,santo       ,christo7 heads the       
calendar of intercessors between ,god   
and       man1 he is seldom invoked1    
though they often honor him by naming   
their children after him4 ,as they have 
conferred upon a multitude       of     
their saints the supernatural powers of 
,god1 they have       necessarily       
brought ,god himself down to earth4 ,if 
,i might be       pardoned the          
expression1 ,i should say that they     
treat him and his       well-beloved    

,son with a loving intimacy4 ,the       
worship of the       ,catholics is      
substantially materialism1 more or less 
gross1       according to its distance  
from or its proximity to ,protestantism4
       ,there is no blasphemy1 according
 to their system1 in naming their       
shops after the ,holy ,ghost1 a         
horse-stable after the ,precious        
,blood1 though ,i could never hear them 
mentioned or see them       without     
having my ,protestant notions shocked1  
while ,i equally       shocked their    
feelings by refusing to kneel to the    
,host1 and       slipping out of the way
 to avoid it4 ,nor could ,i exhibit the 
least reverence to their religious      
emblems without committing       what in
 me would be an act of idolatry1 the two
 systems being so       diametrically   
opposite that one can not go a step     
toward the       other without breaking 
over a fundamental doctrine of his own  
belief4 ,god is an invisible ,spirit1   
says the ,protestant4 ,god is a         

,spirit1 answers the ,catholic1 but he  
daily assumes the form of a       wafer1
 and traverses our streets1 and in that 
form we most       commonly worship him4
 ,such is the religious antagonism that 
will       ever be found in the world   
while man remains what he now is1 ever  
divided between mentalism and           
materialism4 ,forms and names often     
differ1 but these are the two ideas into
 which all the religious       systems  
of the world resolve themselves1        
although abortive       attempts are    
often made to combine them4        #gh  
,vol4 ii4 p4 #deb4     ,,chapter        
,,xxxiv4  ,sonora and ,sonora ,land     
,speculators seeking                    
,annexation4--,sonora and its           
,attractions4--,the ,abundance and      
,purity of ,silver in ,sonora4--,silver 
found in large ,masses4--,the ,jesus    
,maria1 ,refugio1 and ,eulalia          
,mines4--,a ,creation of ,silver at     
,arizpa4--,the ,pacific                 
,railroad4--,sonora now valueless for   

want of personal ,security4--,the ,hopes
 of replenishing the ,spanish ,finances 
from ,sonora blasted by ,war4--,report  
of the ,mineria4--,sonora4--,chihuahua4 
,,land ,,titles4  ,it has been said in  
another chapter that the ,apaches had   
extended their depredations beyond the  
first tier of ,states1 and had entered  
,durango1 ,zacatecas1 ,san ,luis        
,potosi1 and even ,guanajuato1 making   
this second tier of states their        
stamping ground1 while ,sonora1         
,chihuahua1 ,coahuila1 over which they  
now rode without opposition to a country
 more abundant in plunder1 are left as  
political waifs to any who may choose to
 take possession of them4 ,as in all    
abandoned countries1 there are          
inhabitants here incapable of getting   
away1 and too poor even for the ,indians
 to notice2 and there are a few         
miserable villages still existing1 with 
a fragment of their former population4  
,all the inhabitants of these wretched  
hamlets have their eyes fixed on the    

,united ,states as the only hope of     
relief from their ,indian plunderers4   
,the proprietors of estates1 extending  
over vast districts1 too cowardly to    
defend their claims1 which exceed in    
extent ,european principalities1 are    
sitting quietly down at a respectful    
distance1 anxiously looking forward to  
the time when their claims will rise in 
value from a few dollars to as many     
hundred thousands by an annexation to   
the ,united ,states4 ,mexican operators 
in grants have not been idle4 ,they have
 ascertained what the ,united ,states   
courts call a title1 and have been      
providing themselves with the necessary 
parchments1#gi while ,american          
operators1 in connection with them1 have
 been equally busy4  ,chihuahua and     
,sonora are the ,states or ,departments 
to be affected by our ,pacific          
,railroad4 ,sonora is the most valuable 
of the two1 not only on account of its  
inexhaustible supply of silver1 but also
 on account of its delightful climate   

and agricultural resources4 ,it is like 
the land of the blessed in ,oriental    
story4 ,california does not surpass it  
in fertility or in climate4 ,with       
industry and thrift1 it could sustain a 
population equal to that of all ,mexico4
 ,the table-lands and the valleys are so
 near together that the products of all 
climates flourish almost side by side4  
,food for man and beast was so easily   
procured that the descendants of the    
early settlers sunk into effeminacy long
 before the breaking out of the great   
,apache war of the last century4        
,drought1 however1 makes the formation  
of artificial lakes and reservoirs      
necessary to the full development of its
 agricultural wealth4   ,,chihuahua     
,,and ,,sonora4  ,but it is the         
remarkable abundance of silver which    
distinguishes it above all other        
countries except ,chihuahua4 ,i have    
described1 in a former chapter1 the long
 and laborious processes by which silver
 is produced from the ore in the        

southern mines1 and also the great      
depths from which it is raised4 ,in     
,sonora1 silver is most commonly        
extracted from the ore by the simple    
process of fusion4 ,but in the district 
of ,batopilos1 it is1 or rather was1    
found pure4 ,if we should adopt the     
theory that veins of ore extend through 
the entire length of ,mexico1 then ,i   
should say that they crop out in        
,sonora1 or1 rather1 that the silver    
lodes which are here above the surface  
dip toward the city of ,mexico1 and also
 northward toward ,california4 ,the     
mountain chain which traverses          
,california under the name of the       
,sierra ,nevada appears to be only a    
continuation or reappearance of the     
mountain chain here called ,sierra      
,madre 7,mother ,range71 which forms the
 boundary between the departments of    
,sonora and ,chihuahua4  ,on the western
 declivity of this mountain range1 the  
most remarkable illustration of this    
fact of cropping out is found at        

,batopilos1 already mentioned4 ,this    
town is in a deep ravine4 ,the climate  
is1 like that of the ,california        
gulches1 intensely hot1 but remarkably  
healthy4 ,here the lodes of silver ore  
are almost innumerable1#hj with crests  
elevated above the ground4 ,the mine of 
,el ,carmen1 in the times of the        
vice-kings1 produced so immensely that  
its proprietor was ennobled1 with the   
title of ,marquis of ,bustamente4 ,this 
was the beginning of the family of      
,bustamente4 ,a piece of pure silver was
 found here weighing four hundred and   
twenty-five pounds4 ,i should like to   
continue in detail to enumerate the rich
 surface mines in the southern portions 
of these two ,states1 but1 lest ,i      
should weary my reader1 ,i must omit    
them1 and refer those who wish to learn 
more to the translations from the last  
official reports of the ,mineria1       
entitled ,chihuahua and ,sonora1 which  
are embodied in the ,appendix4  ,the    
',good ,success ,mine' 7,bueno          

,successo7 was discovered by an ,indian1
 who swam across the river after a great
 flood4 ,on arriving at the other side1 
he found the crest of an immense lode   
laid bare by the force of the water4    
,the greater part of this was pure      
massive silver1 sparkling in the rays of
 the sun4 ,the whole town of ,batopilos 
went to gaze at the extraordinary sight 
as soon as the river was fordable4 ,this
 ,indian extracted great wealth from his
 mine1 but1 on coming to the depth of   
three ,spanish yards 7varas71 the       
abundance of water obliged him to       
abandon it1 and no attempts have since  
been made to resume the working4 ,when  
the silver is not found in solid masses1
 which requires to be cut with the      
chisel1 it is generally finely sprinkled
 through the lode1 and often serves to  
nail together the particles of stone    
through which it is                     
disseminated4#ha--,the ores of the      
,pastiano mine1 near the ,carmen1 were  
so rich that the lode was worked by     

bars1 with a point at one end and a     
chisel at the other1 for cutting out the
 silver4 ,the owner of the ,pastiano    
used to bring the ores from the mine    
with flags flying1 and the mules adorned
 with cloths of all colors4 ,the same   
man received a reproof from the ,bishop 
of ,durango when he visited ,batopilos  
for placing bars of silver from the door
 of his house to the great hall 7sala7  
for the bishop to walk upon4#hb  ,the   
next mine of interest in our progress   
northward is the ,morelos1 which was    
discovered in #ahbf by two brothers     
named ,aranco4 ,these two ,indian peons 
were so poor that1 the night before     
their great discovery1 the keeper of the
 store had refused to credit one of them
 for a little corn for his tortillas4   
,they extracted from their claim        
#bgj1jjj2 yet1 in ,december1 #ahbf1 they
 were still living in a wretched hovel1 
close to the source of their wealth1    
bare-headed and bare-legged1 with upward
 of #bjj1jjj in silver locked up in     

their hut4 ,but never was the utter     
worthlessness of the metal1 as such1 so 
clearly demonstrated as in the case of  
the ,arancos1 whose only pleasure       
consisted in contemplating their hoards1
 and occasionally throwing away a       
portion of the richest ore to be        
scrambled for by their former           
companions1 the workmen4  ,near the     
,morelos is the ,jesus ,maria4 ,though  
on the western or ,sonora slope of the  
mountain1 it is only eight leagues from 
,chihuahua4 ,this1 like ,morelos1 is a  
modern discovery1 and1 of course1 was   
not included in the number of those     
,sonora mines which produced such an    
intense excitement about a hundred years
 ago in ,mexico1 and even in ,spain4    
,here1 within the circuit of three      
leagues1 two hundred metallic lodes were
 registered in one year4 ,the story of  
the mine of ,el ,refugio1 discovered by 
a fellow of the name of ,pacheco1 gave  
occasion for anecdotes like those of the
 ,arancos which we have just recited4 ,a

 dealer had an old cloak which took the 
fancy of ,pacheco1 and to purchase this 
thing he gave ore from which the dealer 
realized #hjjj4 ,three twenty-fourths   
7three bars7 of the product of this mine
 netted1 between the years #ahaa and    
#ahad1 #ccg1jjj4 ,on the ,sonora side of
 the mountain is ,santa ,eulalia4 ,the  
ores of this real district are found in 
loose earth1 filling immense caverns1 or
 what are called rotten ores in         
,california1 and are easily separated by
 smelting4 ,one shilling a mark 7#h7 was
 laid aside from the silver which one of
 these caverns produced1 which shilling 
contribution constituted the fund out of
 which the magnificent ,cathedral of    
,chihuahua was built4   ,,the ,,mine    
,,of ,,arazuma4  ,proceeding northward1 
we come to a spot the most famous in the
 world for its product of silver1 the   
mine of ,arazuma4 ,for near a century1  
the accounts of the wealth of this mine 
were considered fabulous2 but their     
literal truth is confirmed by the       

testimony of the ,english embassador4   
,after examining the old records which  
,i have quoted1 ,i have no doubt that   
the facts surpassed the astonishing     
report2 for in ,mexico1 the propensity  
has ever been to conceal rather than    
over-estimate the quantity of silver1 on
 account of the king's fifth2 yet it is 
the king's fifth1 actually paid1 on     
which all the estimates of the          
production of ,sonora silver mines are  
based4 ,arazuma 7which1 in the report of
 the ,mineria that ,i have translated   
for this volume1 appears to be set down 
as ,arizpa7 was1 a hundred years ago1   
the world's wonder1 and so continued    
until the breaking out of the great     
,apache war a few years afterward4 ,men 
seemed to run mad at the sight of such  
immense masses of virgin silver1 and for
 a time it seemed as if silver was about
 to lose its value4 ,in the midst of the
 excitement1 a royal ordinance appeared1
 declaring ,arazuma a creation of silver
 7creador de plata71 and appropriating  

it to the king's use4 ,this put a stop  
to private enterprise2 and1 after the   
,indian war set in1 ,arazuma became     
almost a forgotten locality2 and in a   
generation or two afterward1 the        
accounts of its mineral riches began to 
be discredited4  ,we have the following 
record in evidence of the masses of     
silver extracted at ,arazuma4 ,don      
,domingo ,asmendi paid duties on a piece
 of virgin silver which weighed #bge    
lbs4 ,the king's attorney 7fiscal7      
brought suit for the duties on several  
other pieces1 which together weighed    
#djcc lbs4 ,also for the recovery1 as a 
curiosity1 and therefore the property of
 the king1 of a certain piece of silver 
of the weight of #bgjj lbs4 ,this is    
probably the largest piece of pure      
silver ever found in the world1 and yet 
it was discovered only a few miles      
distant from the contemplated track of  
our ,pacific ,railroad4  ,i might       
continue enumerating the instances of   
mineral wealth brought to light in these

 two states1 ,sonora and ,chihuahua1 if 
,i supposed it would be interesting to  
my readers2 but as they have heard      
enough of silver1 ,i may add that rich  
deposits of gold were found at ,molatto 
in #ahjf1 and a still greater discovery 
of gold was made a few years ago4 ,in   
this latter discovery1 the poor diggers 
suffered so much from thirst that a     
dollar was readily paid for a single    
bucket of water1 and at length1 by      
reason of the drought1 this rich placer 
had to be abandoned4   ,,future ,,of    
,,sonora4  ,such is ,sonora1 a region of
 country which combines the rare        
attractions of the richest silver mines 
in the world1 lying in the midst of the 
finest agricultural districts1 and where
 the climate is as attractive as its    
mineral riches4 ,but its richest mineral
 district is near its northern frontier1
 and is almost inaccessible1 and can    
never be advantageously worked without  
an abundant supply of mineral coal for  
smelting2 nor can any of its mines or   

estates be successfully worked without  
greater security for life and property  
than at present exists4 ,the capitalists
 of ,mexico will not invest their means 
in developing the resources of ,sonora1 
and in consequence1 the finest country  
in the world is fast receding to a state
 of nature4 ,i found in the ,palace at  
,mexico a copy of the last report of the
 ,governor of ,sonora upon the state of 
his ,department1 in which he mentions1  
among many other causes of its decadence
 during the last few years1 the         
extensive emigration of its laboring    
population to ,california4  ,extravagant
 as are these statements of the mineral 
riches of ,sonora1 they probably do not 
come up to the reality1 as the largest  
of them are founded on the sums reported
 for taxation at the distant city of    
,mexico1 when it was notorious1 as      
already stated1 that a large portion of 
the silver was fraudulently concealed in
 order to avoid the taxes4 ,such        
concealment could be successfully       

carried on in a region so distant and   
inaccessible as ,sonora was in the time 
of ,philip ,v41 for it was in the reign 
of that idiot king1 before the liberal  
mining-ordinances of ,carlos ,,iii41    
that the ,sonora mining-fever broke out4
  ,a hundred years have passed since the
 once formidable ,apaches swept over    
northern ,sonora like a deluge1 blotting
 out forever the hopes which the        
,spanish court had conceived of         
retrieving the fallen finances of their 
empire from this ,el ,dorado4 ,but      
,providence had ordered it otherwise4   
,the ,spaniards had done enough to      
demonstrate its inexhaustible wealth1   
and then they were driven away from this
 creation of silver1#hc and the whole   
deposit held for a hundred years in     
reserve for the uses of another race1   
who were destined to overrun the        
continent4  ,i should have but half     
performed my task should ,i omit to     
speak of the excellent bay and harbor of
 ,guaymas1 in the southern part of      

,sonora4 ,after ,san ,francisco1 it is  
the finest harbor on the ,pacific1 and  
is the natural route through which our  
commerce with the ,east ,indies should  
be directed4 ,the long experience of    
,spain taught her that a western route  
to the ,east ,indies was so much        
superior to the one by the ,cape of     
,good ,hope as to compensate for a      
transhipment of all of her ,east ,india 
merchandise upon mules' backs from      
,acapulco to ,vera ,cruz4 ,much more    
advantageous must it be to us1 when a   
railroad from ,el ,paso1 passing through
 the midst of the silver district ,i    
have described1 shall transfer our      
commerce with ,japan and ,china to the  
,pacific side of our continent4 ,here   
the very silver necessary for the       
purchase of tea is nearly as abundant as
 tin in some of the ,european mines1    
and1 as in ,california1 the prospects   
held out to the farmer are equal to     
mineral attractions4  ,it would be folly
 for our government to acquire ,sonora  

without first providing for connecting  
it with our country by railroad1 and    
equally foolish to acquire it without   
making provision1 in the treaty of      
acquisition1 for reducing all           
land-titles to the size of a single     
township1 in consideration for the      
superior value given to the property by 
the annexation1 and for annulling all   
land-titles under which there is not an 
actual occupancy4 ,the ,spanish courts  
concede to government this power over   
private rights1 and for this reason a   
treaty of acquisition from ,mexico would
 prevent the confusion that now exists  
in ,california1 and enable ,american    
settlers to locate understandingly at   
once4 ,all titles should continue to be 
subject1 as they now are1 to the right  
of the miner to enter in search of      
precious metals1 thus no conflicts in   
relation to the rights of land-owners   
and miners could arise4 ,the principle  
on which the ,mexican mining laws and   
the ,california mining customs are      

established should be recognized by the 
,united ,states4 ,but that right of     
entry would not arise until the         
construction of a railroad should afford
 the means of actually reducing the     
country to possession1 which ,spain     
never has accomplished1 and ,mexico     
never can accomplish4        #gi ,when  
,i was first at the city of ,mexico1    
,governor ,letcher       introduced to  
me a son of the late emperor1 who had a 
claim for       land in ,california     
which he had not located before the     
annexation4 ,i advised him1 without a   
fee1 that our courts did not            
recognize foreign floats1 and that1 by  
his own laches1 he had       lost his   
claim1 which he now spread along the    
,sacramento ,river       for #djj miles4
 ,finding out1 after an expenditure of  
several       thousand dollars1 the     
defect1 he got a new claim from the late
       ,president ,lombardini of thirty 
miles square1 which he will             
probably now pin tight in ,sonora4 ,the 

defect of our two last       treaties   
with ,mexico was in not having a clause 
inserted reducing       all titles to   
land to six miles square1 as a          
consideration for       the enhanced    
value by the annexation4        #hj ,i  
would not like to make such extravagant 
statements on my       own authority1   
however satisfactory the testimony might
 be to       myself1 for the abundance  
of silver in ,sonora is beyond the      
belief of most men4 ,but1 fortunately1  
,i have1 in ,ward's ,mexico1       an   
authority that can not be disputed4 ,the
 work is accessible to       all my     
readers4 ,the author was charged by the 
,british government       with an       
examination of the mines of ,mexico4    
#ha ,ward1 vol4 ii4 p4 #egh4        #hb 
,ibid4        #hc ,i do not know exactly
 how to translate the ,spanish idea     
attached to the words creador de plata  
unless by saying       that it is a spot
 where baser substances are supposed to 
be       converted into silver by some  

unknown process of nature4              
,,appendix4   ,a4  ,,mineria ,,report   
,,on ,,the ,,mineral ,,riches ,,of      
,,sonora4  ,among the five-and-twenty   
states and territories that compose the 
,mexican confederation1 there is no     
other which contains in its respective  
territory the like wonderful mineral    
riches which abound in the state of     
which we treat4 ,this would appear      
almost fabulous2 but there is proof     
enough from the testimony of many       
residents of that state1 and from the   
assertion of travelers1 from the        
evidences which the archives of the     
various missions exhibit1 and from the  
royal registry of mines 7reales de      
minas71 and1 lastly1 from the           
indubitable fact of the production of   
great quantities of gold and silver from
 the mines and placers of this state1   
considering the small amount of forces1 
and its isolation from all the principal
 settlements of the republic by reason  
of the distance which separates it from 

them4  ,in fact1 many metals of         
universal estimation1 such as gold1     
silver1 mercury1 copper1 and iron1 in a 
pure state1 in grains1 in masses1 or in 
dust1 as well as mixed with other       
metals1 superficially or in veins1 are  
found in the extensive territory of     
,sonora2 lead1 or combinations of lead1 
for aiding in extracting metals by fire1
 and for the construction of munitions  
of war1 amianthus or incombustible      
crystal1 divers ores of copperas1       
exquisite marble1 alabaster1 and jasper 
of various colors1 as well as quarries  
of stone of chrispa and magnetic stones1
 muriate and carbonate of soda1         
saltpetre or nitrate of potassa1 are1 in
 enumeration1 the mineral productions   
which are found in abundance in the     
territory of the state of ,sonora1 which
 comprehends the region from the river  
of ,fort ,monte ,clarasal at the south  
to the ,gila at the north1 and from the 
,sierra ,madre at the east to the       
,colorado at the northwest4  ,to the    

disgrace of the nation1 these authentic 
and exact notices of the marvelous      
riches of this remote state have availed
 nothing in determining speculators     
7empresarios7 to resort to those places 
in pursuit of a fortune so certain1 or  
at least to have avoided1 by the means  
of colonization1 the loss which is      
feared of this inestimable jewel4  ,the 
territory of the state of ,sonora lacks 
nothing but security from incursions of 
,indians in order that the hand of man  
may be profusely recompensed for his    
labor4 ,virgin soils1 where the         
agricultural fruits of all climates not 
only flourish1 but many of these improve
 in quality2 navigable rivers1 which    
contribute in part to the easy          
transportation of the products to the   
ports of the ,pacific for exportation   
and consumption2 mines and placers of   
precious metals1 in many of which there 
is no necessity of capital to explore   
and collect them--are not these         
stimulants enough to attract there a    

population thrifty and civilized8 ,in   
order to ascertain the mineral riches   
which the nation may lose in a short    
time1 we call attention to the mineral  
statistics which follow1 although they  
are imperfect and diminutive4  ,as      
already we have said1 the whole of      
,sonora is mineral2 but as among us we  
only give this name to those places in  
which there have been discovered and    
worked a conjunction of veins1 it       
results that the places in this state to
 which for this cause has been given the
 name of mineral are thirty-four4 ,some 
of the mines are amparadas viz41 worked 
sufficient to confer a legal title to   
the occupant1 and are imperfectly in a  
state of operation4 ,the names of all of
 these two classes1 which are sixteen in
 all1 are ,hermosillo1 ,san ,javier1    
,subiate1 ,vayoreca1 ,alamas1           
,babicanara1 ,batuco1 ,la ,alameda1 ,rio
 ,chico1 ,el ,aguaja1 ,aigame1 ,el      
,luaque1 ,saguaripa1 ,la ,trinidad1 ,san
 ,antonio1 and ,el ,zoni4  ,the         

remaining eighteen are found abandoned1 
some for the want of water1 and others  
for the want of laborers or capital1 and
 by the fear which the barbarous        
,indians inspire4 ,the names of these   
last minerals are ,san ,juan de ,sonora1
 that of the ,sierra at the northwest of
 ,guaymas1 ,arizuma1 ,bacauchi1         
,antunes1 ,san ,jose de ,gracia1 ,el    
,gavilau1 ,san ,ildefonso de la         
,cienequilla1 ,san ,francisco el ,calou1
 ,santa ,rosa1 ,san ,antonio de la      
,huenta1 ,vadoseco ,sobia1 ,mulatos1    
,basura1 ,alamo-,muerto1 and ,san       
,perfecto4  ,in the same state have been
 discovered twenty-one placers2 of      
these1 one is of virgin silver1 in      
grains and plates 7planchas71 and twenty
 of pure gold1 in grains and dust2 but  
as nearly all these are situated in the 
mineral districts 7minerales7 already   
mentioned1 the names of those which are 
not given are the following3 ,agua      
,caliente1 ,quitovac1 ,las ,palomas1 ,la
 ,canaca1 and ,totahiqui4 ,with the     

exception of three1 to which            
gold-hunters from time to time resort to
 relieve their necessities1 all the     
others remain abandoned4  ,there was    
only one mineral district actually in   
work at the close of the last century   
and the beginning of the present2 those 
now actually in process of being worked 
are fourteen1 and their names are ,la   
,grande1 ,la ,quintera1 ,el ,subiate1   
,bulbaucda ,europita1 ,vayoreca1 ,la    
,cotera1 ,santo ,domingo1 ,noercheran1  
,la ,sibertao1 ,minas-,nuevas1 ,el      
,tajo1 ,minas ,prietas1 and another near
 ,la ,grande4  ,from the mineral        
districts 7minerales7 abandoned there   
ought to be inferred an increased number
 of mines1 which are in the same        
condition1 but we do not know their     
names1 and we have only notices of the  
twenty following3 ,pimas1 ,la ,tarasca1 
,ubalama1 ,ojito de ,san ,roman1        
,yaquis1 ,la ,guerita1 ,noaguila1 ,las  
,animas1 ,afuerenos1 ,piedras-verdes    
,navares1 ,la ,calera1 ,caugrejos1      

,guillarmena1 ,san ,atilano1 ,san       
,teodoro1 and ,el ,gavilau4 ,in those in
 ,pinas1 and in one of those of the     
mineral of ,san ,jose de ,gracia1 have  
been found considerable amounts of pure 
silver deposited in their veins1 and    
mineral taken from ,san ,teodoro has    
produced one half silver4 ,in extracting
 the silver from the ore in this place1 
we ought to mention that the greater    
part of these mines are susceptible of  
great bonanzas1 from not having been    
worked extensively1 as their proprietors
 abandoned them when the metals failed  
to appear upon the surface1 and when the
 exploration was a little more costly4  
,there are eleven haciendas in the      
,state of ,sonora for purifying the     
metals which the mines and placers      
produce1 without taking into the account
 many little establishments1 with from  
two to five horse-mills1 with one bad   
furnace for the fusion of metals4 ,three
 of these are situated in ,alamas1 five 
in ,aduana1 one in ,promontorio1 another

 in ,tatagiosa1 and the last in ,minas  
,nuevas 7,new ,mines74 ,there are many  
abandoned mines1 as the rubbish and     
ruins indicate1 which we have noticed1  
in all the abandoned mineral districts4 
,the methods which they have observed in
 extracting the metals from the ore are 
the patio by application of quicksilver 
in an open yard1 and that of fusion1    
with the aid of some metals that assist 
the fusion2 but from the fact that the  
quicksilver augments considerably the   
price1 the few that there carry on the  
business have preferred the process of  
fusion to that of the patio1 from being 
less costly1 and because the docility of
 the metals afford facilities to this   
process4  ,no machines of new invention 
have been introduced into that state1   
either for the drainage of the mines or 
for facilitating the extracting of the  
metals4 ,this ought not to surprise us1 
in places so desert and distant from the
 metropolis1 unaccustomed to the        
vivifying movements of commerce1 and to 

the necessities which civilization has  
engendered in the more important        
populations in the central parts of the 
republic4 ,that which is rare1 and ought
 to call attention1 is the exception of 
some mines1 where malacatos water-sacks 
of bull-hides1 drawn up by a windlass   
are used for discharging water4 ,in     
almost all those which have thus been   
worked1 they have not had an opportunity
 to exhibit their riches1 as the        
abundance of water in many of them was  
the principal cause of their            
abandonment4  ,the greatest difficulty  
in the way of giving an exact idea of   
the products of the mines and placers of
 ,sonora is the scandalous contraband   
exportations of gold and silver which   
are made from the ports of the ,sea of  
,cortez ,gulf of ,california on the one 
hand1 and1 on the other1 the            
difficulties that have presented        
themselves to his ,excellency1 the      
,governor of that state1 for giving the 
statistical notices which have been     

sought on repeated occasions by the     
,junta of the ,mineria1 both of which   
causes have made difficult the account  
which we furnish2 but by those which    
they themselves furnished of the        
production of those minerals before and 
since the independence of the nation1   
and by the exhibits of various witnesses
 presented in the remission of bars     
which from thence they made to the      
capital of the republic1 when the ports 
of the ,pacific were sealed to foreign  
commerce1 the production of precious    
metals having yielded in divers epochs  
not far from #dejj pounds of silver1    
without considering the gold 7abundant  
enough in placers and in rivers71 and   
from what is known1 the quantities of   
this metal extracted have been          
considerable1 and in more abundance than
 in the mineral districts of the other  
states of the republic4  ,attention     
having been much called to the ley and  
weight of the grains of pure gold found 
on the surface in ,quitovac1            

,cienequilla1 and ,san ,francisco1 as   
well as those masses of virgin silver   
found in ,arizuma1 which wonderful      
riches stimulated the colonial          
government to despoil the proprietors of
 it1 and afterward the ,king of ,spain1 
in declaring that it pertained to his   
royal patrimony4  ,all those places in  
,sonora which are actually abandoned1 as
 well as all the lands of that state1   
are susceptible of producing great      
riches4 ,the reasons on which these     
assertions are founded are those which  
,m4 ,saint ,clair ,duport mentions in   
speaking of the probable variation there
 will be in value of gold and silver in 
time1 by reason of the great extractions
 hereafter of these metals1 particularly
 in ,california this was before the     
annexation of ,california and ,sonora1  
where1 as in the ,ural ,mountains1 and  
the ,altai ,mountains of ,central ,asia1
 gold is extremely abundant1 and because
 in the placers mentioned explorers have
 recognized gold in dust1 which they    

have not washed for want of water in    
some1 and from the difficulty that      
exists in others in order to work them1 
such as those of ,arizuma and ,la       
,papagueria4  ,nothing could be said in 
relation to the number of operatives who
 are employed in working the mines of   
this state1 nor the day-laborers2 nor in
 respect to articles consumed there1 as 
well in the digging of the metals as in 
extracting them from the ores1 because1 
as has already been said1 his           
,excellency the ,governor has not been  
able to give the notices which have been
 sought1 and there are no other better  
authorities through whom information can
 be procured4 ,for in this state there  
are no mining courts1#hd but the        
ordinary judges of first instance are   
the authorities which take cognizance of
 matters which occur in the department  
of the ,mineria4        #hd ,the title  
to all mines in ,mexico rests solely    
upon discovery       and improvement1   
without any regard to the proprietorship

 to the       land on which the mines   
are located2 but the proof of discovery 
and improvement must be made and        
recorded in the mineral courts1         
except in ,sonora1 where the ordinary   
courts have jurisdiction4  ,there are no
 companies for the exploration of the   
mines in that remote state4 ,some       
inhabitants1 in distant periods1 have   
procured the formation of numerous      
caravans with the character of          
companies1 and with the object of       
collecting precious metals1 which they  
encountered in the placers of ,arizuma  
and of ,papagueria1 but until now they  
have not been able to hold with effect  
undertakings so laudable4  ,various are 
the causes on account of which the      
riches which lie buried through all     
parts of the immense territory of the   
,state of ,sonora have not been         
explored4 ,some of these reasons have   
already been referred to1 but1 for      
greater clearness1 we take this         
opportunity to recapitulate them all4   

,the first1 which are much noted1 are   
the following3  #ast4 ,the absolute want
 of personal security4  #b;d4 ,the      
scarcity of population1 and of the means
 of subsistence for the few hands that  
they were able to have devoted to       
working mines in the immediate vicinity 
of hostile ,indians4  #c;d4 ,the        
irregularity and the want of experience 
and capital in those who have undertaken
 the exploration and the extraction of  
metals1 which has occasioned the        
abandonment of this class of            
speculations whenever they presented any
 difficulties1 or commenced to be more  
costly by failing to produce metals upon
 the surface of the earth4 ,some certain
 speculations which have been directed  
with regard to the rules which regulate 
mineral industry1 and have been         
prosecuted with capital1 have well      
compensated the labors and efforts of   
the proprietors4  ,gold and silver1 as  
above said1 are not the only mineral    
productions of ,sonora4 ,in the part of 

,muchachos1 situated in the ,sierra     
,madre1 between ,tueson and ,tubac1 and 
in ,mogollon1 a place situated in the   
mountains of ,apuchuria1 in those of    
,papagueria1 and near the ,colorado1 are
 found great masses of virgin iron1 and 
abundant veins of the same metal4       
,cinnabar was discovered in #ahjb in the
 hill of ,santa ,teresa1 situated in the
 mineral of ,rio ,chico2 and in the     
hills which are at the north of the     
,colorado1 it has been found in the past
 age4 ,copper is also found in ,antunes1
 ,tonuco1 ,bacauchi1 ,pozo de ,crisante1
 ,sierra de ,guadalupe1 ,sierra de la   
,papagueria1 and particularly in the    
,couanea1 from whence have been         
extracted great quantities of this      
metal1 with a great ley of gold4 ,metals
 of lead 7metales plomosos7 abound in   
,agua ,caliente1 ,alamo-,muerto1 ,la    
,papagueria1 ,arispe1 and ,la           
,cieneguilla4 ,from these two last      
points have been taken considerable     
quantities of them1 for supplying all   

other mines of the state to aid in      
fusion1 and for munitions of war4       
,copperas1 or sulphate of iron1 is      
abundant in ,san ,javier1 ,san ,antonio 
de la ,huerta1 and ,agua ,caliente4 ,in 
the first of these placers a vein runs  
from south to north1 from pieces of     
which1 dissolved in water1 there results
 a tint which1 by evaporation1 forms    
into grains1 and produces the same      
effect as the tint of ,china4 ,in       
,cucurpe is amianto1 or incombustible   
crystal1 which the ancients so much     
valued4 ,marbles of various classes and 
colors1 as well as alabasters and       
jaspers1 are found in ,opasura1         
,hermosillo1 ,uores1 ,la ,campana1 and  
other points2 but we do not know as yet 
the place from which the ,aztecs        
obtained the beautiful reddish marble   
which they used in the construction of  
their divinity of ,chapultepec1 which is
 preserved in the ,national ,museum1 and
 which1 according to all conjectures and
 probabilities1 proceeded from the      

quarries of marble of that state4 ,there
 are quarries of the stone of chrispa1  
and even the magnet in ,alamas1         
,hermosillo1 in ,sierras of the         
frontier1 and in the causada of         
,barbitas1 ten leagues distant from     
,hermosillo1 near the route of ,la      
,cieneguilla4 ,muriate and carbonate of 
soda1 saltpetre1 or nitrate of potassa1 
are found in the margin of the rivers   
which empty into the ,gulf of ,cortez of
 ,california1 and particularly in the   
mouths of the ,colorado4   ,b4  ,,report
 ,,on ,,the ,,mineral ,,riches ,,of     
,,chihuahua4  ,the statistical notices  
which have until to-day been received1  
embrace five cantons or departments of  
that state1 which show that there exist 
in it sixteen minerals districts        
containing mines1 of which twelve are in
 working1 and four abandoned in         
consequence of the incessant incursions 
of barbarous ,indians4 ,their names are 
,hidalgo del ,parral1 ,minas ,nuevas1   
,san ,francisco del ,oro1 ,santa        

,barbara1 ,zopago1 ,chinipas1           
,guazapores1 ,batozegache1 ,guadalupe y 
,calvo1 ,cuacogornichie1 ,galeana1      
,cosihuiriachic1 ,santa ,eulalia1       
,barranco1 and two more1 without names1 
in the canton ,caleana4  ,twenty-one    
mines are found in operation in the     
twelve minerals in action4 ,the number  
of those abandoned is increasing1 and is
 not permanent2 and the only cause      
referred to is that many of them are    
abandoned for want of capital1 and      
others from the hostility of the        
barbarians4 ,the products of those that 
were worked in the year #ahdi amount to 
#adf1hah marks of silver1 of a ley of   
eleven dineros1 and #g marks1 #g oz41   
and #d eighths of gold to the twenty-two
 quintals4 ,the number of haciendas and 
furnaces for extracting the metal from  
the ore was twenty1 and the processes   
which they use in that state are the    
patio and the furnace2 the last is the  
most general4 ,finally1 there has been  
put in practice a third system1 by the  

house of ,manning and ,m',intosh1 for   
the purpose of separating the silver by 
means of the precipitate of copper4 ,the
 consumptions of the last year1 #ahdi1  
amount to #edd1aid1 notwithstanding     
which the notices omit the returns of   
various mines1 haciendas1 furnaces1 and 
water-mills4 ,the items are quicksilver 
at #adj a hundred1 gunpowder1 lime1     
wood1 sulphate of copper1 salt1 iron1   
steel1 metals of aid metals thrown into 
the compound to aid the process of      
extracting1 tallow1 grease1 hides1      
leather1 corn1 straw1 grain1 flesh1     
beans1 and bars of iron4 ,the number of 
operatives is not known with exactness1 
because the reports only refer to       
certain mines and haciendas1 but in     
these they amount to #ahcc1 besides     
day-laborers at five reals 7#e_/hths of 
a dollar7 a day for half the time4 ,the 
most important improvements that have   
been introduced into some of these mines
 consist in the establishment of pumps  
for facilitating draining1 and in the   

introduction of ,german ovens for fusing
 a greater quantity of mineral at a less
 cost and with greater perfection1 being
 so much the more interesting as the    
condition of the metals presents itself 
more easily to this kind of benefiting4 
,four companies have been established   
for prosecuting the labor of the mines1 
,presena1 ,rosario1 ,tajo1 and ,prieta4 
,the first takes its name from ,senor   
,delille1 the second is composed of     
,mexicans1 and the last two are composed
 of ,mexicans1 ,english1 and naturalized
 ,spaniards4 ,nothing is known in       
relation to their capitals4 ,besides the
 precious metals1 we find lead in ,naica
 and ,babisas1 of the canton of         
,matamoros2 copper1 from which only     
magistral is taken1 is found in the     
canton of ,mina1 and sulphur and        
saltpetre in the canton of ,iturbide4   
,the reports mention nothing in respect 
to the authorities that take cognizance 
of the affairs of the ,mineria2 but it  
is presumed that1 as in the rest of the 

nation1 the judges of first instance    
take knowledge of controversies1 and the
 courts of mines1 if by chance they are 
established1 take cognizance of the     
economy and government of the mines4    
,the mint of ,guadalupe and ,calvo      
coined in #ahdh1 #gbj1gfe1 and in #ahdi1
 #ffe1bbe1 of which two sums #a1jbg1acj 
were of silver1 and #cee1hei in gold1   
the whole being the proceeds of #aaf1jae
 marks1 #a oz41 and #d eighths of       
silver1 of the ley of eleven dineros1   
and of #bcea marks1 #e oz41 #b eighths  
of gold1 with ley of twenty-two carats4 
,this appears from the reports of the   
mint of the capital of that state4   ,c4
  ,,report ,,on ,,the ,,mineral ,,riches
 ,,of ,,coahuila4  ,this state1 one of  
the least populous1 and exposed1 like   
all the frontier states of the north1 to
 the incessant incursions of the        
barbarous tribes1 offers at present very
 little interest to those speculations  
which engender the exercise of mineral  
industry--that which1 besides experience

 and capital1 requires for its          
development an abundance of hands and   
entire security4 ,while the publication 
of the mineral statistics of the nation 
not only brings the idea of manifesting 
the present condition of this branch of 
industry among us1 but also that of     
propagating its exercise as one of the  
principal elements of riches among the  
,mexicans1 it is necessary to speak of  
the state in which the ,mineria is in   
,coahuila1 and of hopes which it makes  
to spring up for the future4 ,there are 
twelve mines actually amparadas1 or in  
labor1 in the four minerals already     
mentioned3 their names are unknown to   
us1 and it is only known that their     
monthly products amount to #bjj marks of
 #h ounces of silver and #aej loads of  
greta litharge4 ,the number of          
operatives employed in all these amount 
to #aic1 and the day laborers receive   
four reals half a dollar a day4  ,there 
is no exact notice of the number of     
mineral districts and single mines      

abandoned in the ,state of ,coahuila2   
but the number is considerable1         
according to the information furnished  
from #ahdc by the deputation of ,santa  
,rosa4 ,among those deserving a         
particular mention is that of the       
,sierra de ,timulco and that of         
,potrerillos1 by the good ley of the    
metals of the mines of the first1 and by
 the uniformity of the veins and not    
unappreciable richness of the second4   
,these veins run generally from         
northwest to southeast1 and in the      
course they encounter1 scattered about1 
silver-bearing galena sulphuret of lead1
 lead1 copper1 with sulphuret of zinc4  
,the amount of the consumptions of the  
mines that are worked is also unknown2  
but it is known that the gunpowder costs
 the operators #i an aroba of #be       
pounds1 of lead1 #ab a carga of #cjj    
pounds2 that of greta1 #f2 copper1 of   
superior quality1 #af the hundred       
weight2 the carga of coal1 six reals    
three fourths of a dollar1 and wood1 one

 real a mule-load4 ,the ruins and the   
heaps of rubbish manifest that in other 
times there was much activity in the    
labor of the mines and haciendas for    
separating the metals2 but to-day there 
are only in existence some furnaces1    
which are the least costly1 which the   
miners of ,coahuila can use for their   
metals4 ,this they effect generally in  
ovens1 and in galemes in the open plain4
 ,but this method of separating the     
metals1 which ,coahuilans have been     
necessitated to adopt as the least      
expensive1 until quicksilver has notably
 fallen in price1 has not remained      
stationary1 as in other parts of the    
republic4 ,these simple inhabitants have
 succeeded1 by the force of experiments1
 in obtaining as a result the power of  
fusing #be cargas of #cjj pounds of     
metal1 with the aggregation of #ah      
cargas of greta1 in only one furnace and
 in the space of twenty-four hours1 by  
consuming only #de pounds of coal for   
each carga of metal4  ,there are three  

companies in that state for working the 
mines in the mineral district of        
,ramirez1 and another in that of        
,trinudco4 ,there is no notice of the   
amount of funds employed1 but it is     
presumed that they are not considerable1
 by considering the smallness of the    
fortunes of the inhabitants of the      
frontier4  ,in government and economy of
 mines the ,assembly of ,mineria of the 
valley of ,santa ,rosa have             
jurisdiction1 but in litigations the    
judges of first instance have           
jurisdiction1 to whom a particular law  
of this state gives authority4  ,in     
,coahuila1 besides silver1 there is     
found virgin iron in masses of          
considerable volume and of extraordinary
 value in the ,sierra of ,mercudo1 in   
,guadalupe1 and other points4  ,there is
 copper in ,putula or ,rios and in      
,guadalupe4 ,in these mineral districts 
we also encounter lead4 ,amianto        
7incombustible crystal7 also abounds in 
,niezca and in the vicinity of          

,monclova1 as also nitre in ,san ,blas1 
jurisdiction of ,san ,buonaventura4 ,in 
the hills of ,gizedo1 correspondent to  
the district of ,santa ,rosa1 are       
extracted sulphur and copperas4  ,it is 
difficult to ascertain and to mention   
all the causes which have led to the    
decadence of the mineral industry of    
this state1 because the reports which   
the authorities have remitted do not    
state it exactly2 but there is no doubt 
that they are two1 viz41 the want of    
security occasioned by the frequent     
incursions of the barbarians1 and the   
little affection which the agricultural 
people that occupy that state have for  
mining enterprises2 that1 as already    
said1 they require recognizances1 as    
well as capital and hands1 things which 
are scarce enough in the vast territory 
of the frontier state of ,coahuila4     
,d4  ,,report ,,on ,,the ,,mineral      
,,riches ,,of ,,lower ,,california4     
,the sparse population of this          
territory1 the want of scientific       

information in its inhabitants1 and the 
difficulties which have existed in the  
way of keeping up an intercourse with   
their fellow-citizens of the centre of  
the republic1 are causes weighty enough 
for explaining the ignorance in which we
 live concerning the mineral riches of  
that interesting peninsula4 ,without    
doubt1 if we are permitted to judge of  
it from the abundance of the precious   
metals which ,california of the ,north  
and ,sonora contain1 and their          
contiguities1 we ought to infer that in 
the territory of ,southern ,california  
the designated metals should be found in
 considerable quantities4 ,the official 
notices which we possess in respect to  
,lower ,california fortify this         
conjecture4 ,those exhibited by persons 
who lack competent instruction upon this
 point contribute in part to foretell   
what will be the grade of prosperity    
which will come in time with the        
developing of the mineral industry in   
this territory4  ,southern ,california1 

by its topographical position alone1 is 
called to occupy an important place1 not
 only among the integral parts of the   
nation1 but even among foreign parts of 
,america which are bounded by the       
,pacific4 ,if its first necessity is    
attended to1 with the augmentation of   
population commerce will come to give it
 the consequent movement and animation1 
and the ,mineria will come to complete  
the circle of its prosperity2 so that it
 is now difficult to perceive the grand 
importance1 commercial and political1   
which this despised peninsula1 which is 
called ,lower ,california1 will yet     
attain when the transition of time and  
the sequel of events come to realize    
these ,utopian offspring of a patriotic 
sentiment2 but we will occupy ourselves 
with the statistical mineral notices of 
that territory4  ,there are nine mineral
 districts 7minerales7 which are now    
recognized in ,california3 their names  
are ,san ,antonio1 ,zule1 ,santa ,anna1 
,muleje1 ,triumpho1 ,las ,virgenes1 ,el 

,valle ,perdido1 ,los ,flores1          
,cuecuhilas4 ,there is a range          
traversing from north to south for the  
space of forty leagues in that          
territory1 which contains also a        
multitude of veins which have not been  
explored4 ,in all these minerals abound1
 but the irregular and inconstant labor 
of some of the mines does not permit us 
to consider them as in action4          
,explorations of some mines of gold and 
silver have been made in ,california1   
but they remain in the same state with  
the other minerales4 ,one and another   
have been worked superficially1 but     
their possessors abandoned them when    
they presented any obstacle1 which made 
the working more costly1 so that it is  
no exaggeration to say they all are now 
abandoned4 ,in a country almost a       
wilderness 7desierto71 where the want of
 conveniences in exploration of the     
mines failed to engender the stimulus of
 acquiring and preserving the           
proprietorship of the discoveries1#he   

and where1 with the same facility with  
which they abandon one known vein1 they 
proceed to work another new vein--in a  
country where the great part of the     
inhabitants might well be considered as 
tribes that have only reached the first 
grades of civilization1 rather than     
organized societies1 it is not strange  
that there is a want of mineral         
recognizances where only the mines at   
which the metals are easily procured1   
and not costly in extracting from the   
ore1 are worked4        #he ,the        
proprietorship of mines in ,mexico is   
acquired by proof       being made to   
the mining court of discovery and actual
 working2       and is again lost by an 
abandonment of four months2 there is no 
other source of title to mineral lands4 
,notwithstanding that which has been    
said1 there are various residents of the
 mineral districts referred to that     
extract gold and silver sufficient to   
cover their commercial transactions1 to 
pay their laborers and the salaries of  

their operatives1 to procure certain    
necessaries1 and to enjoy certain       
luxuries which many of their            
fellow-citizens do not enjoy4 ,to       
ascertain to what value these           
extractions of metals ascend is         
extremely difficult for the want of data
 with which to aid any calculation4     
,the benefiting 7extracting the metals  
from the ores7 is no less imperfectly   
done than the labor of the mines4 ,there
 are no haciendas for benefiting2 many  
persons that engage themselves in mining
 speculations have in that territory    
one1 two1 and even five horse-mills1    
with which they grind the metal2 this   
they mix with quicksilver and           
salt--imitating the process by the      
patio--in proportion of #ej pounds of   
the first and #ge of the second to #fbe 
7#be arobas7 of metal1 and1 proceeding  
by means of fusion in bad ovens1 they   
obtain silver4 ,some others obtain it by
 means of vases of refining with the aid
 of lead4  ,the consumptions of the     

,californians in the extraction of the  
precious metals consist of quicksilver1 
salt1 and wood2 the first they have     
purchased in the last years at two      
dollars a pound1 the second at          
thirty-seven and a half cents for       
twenty-five pounds1 and the third at a  
quarter of a dollar a mule-load4 ,it is 
to be presumed that when the quicksilver
 of ,northern ,california comes to      
compete with the quicksilver of ,spain  
in the mineral districts of the         
interior#hf of the republic1 the price  
of this principal element for conducting
 the working of mines will fall greatly 
in all the nation1 and that the ,mineria
 will assume a grade of prosperity never
 yet seen in our country2 and ,lower    
,california1 by its proximity to the    
places of the production of mercury1    
will obtain it1 without doubt1 at a     
still lower price4 ,the day-laborers1   
who work the mines of this territory1   
receive for their labor from            
seventy-five cents to one dollar2 but   

there is not a fixed number1 neither is 
their occupation constant4        #hf   
,this term is applied to all places     
distant from the capital4  ,it is not   
necessary to speak of the existence of  
companies for exploring mines in a      
country where there is such a scarcity  
of population1 and where there is not an
 accumulation of capital sufficient in  
order that a part of it might be        
employed in the hazardous enterprises of
 mineral industry4 ,the judges of first 
instance are the authorities that in    
,lower ,california take cognizance of   
all accounts concerning the affairs of  
mines 7a la ,mineria74  ,in the river   
which passes by ,muleje and ,gallinas1  
the inhabitants of those places collect 
the sands1 from which they obtain small 
quantities of gold in dust4 ,in another 
placer1 which embraces an extension of  
seven leagues1 they also extract some   
gold in dust in quantities as           
insignificant as those which result from
 the sands of the river mentioned4      

,silver and gold are the only metals    
that have claimed the attention of the  
,californians1 because they derive an   
advantage from their extraction1 and not
 because there do not exist other metals
 less valuable1 but which yield         
proportionably greater profit to the    
miners that undertake the exploration2  
these are lead1 copper1 iron1 magistral1
 crystal of ,roca1 loadstone1 and alum4 
,e4  ,,the ,,remains ,,of ,,cortez4     
,the account of the disposition of the  
remains of ,cortez1 given on page #bgi1 
is the one commonly received1 and       
contained in works of standard          
authority4 ,since this volume was placed
 in the hands of the printers1 ,i have  
received a new number of the ,apuentes  
,historicos1 which contains another     
account1 which is undoubtedly the true  
one4 ,according to this1 when the body  
of ,cortez was first brought to         
,america1 it was taken to ,tezcuco1 and 
buried at the ,san ,franciscan convent1 
beside that of his friend1 ,king ,don   

,fernando4 ,in the course of the        
following century it was taken to       
,mexico and buried in the convent of the
 ,jesuits 7the ,pro-for is probably     
intended74 ,after the ,revolution1 it   
was transported to ,sicily by the agent 
of his descendant1 the present ,marquis 
of the ,valley4   ,,the ,,end4